


Soul Searching

by Lainie (mislainieous), yourfavauthor



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Romance, Bad Jokes, Bullying, Drowning Triggers, F/M, Fantasy, Fish Puns, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Human Consumption, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Merpeople, Possessive Behavior, Possible Snake or Drowning Triggers, Real Icky Slithery Eel-Like Things with Teeth, Self-Discovery, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, merfolk, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2019-07-02 03:54:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 51,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15788418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mislainieous/pseuds/Lainie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourfavauthor/pseuds/yourfavauthor
Summary: ****  NEW TAGS  ****  TAKE NOTE, PLEASE  ****





	1. Chapter 1

The first fat drop hit the window pane with a soft sound, causing Asami Ryuichi to look up from the documents spread across his desk. Soon enough, the rain drops were singing their rainy season song, running in twisting rivulets down the glass. Kirishima Kei, Asami’s most trusted man, stopped his low monotonous litany of market prices and boring office talk, and the office was quickly immersed in quiet. Ever sensitive to his boss’ mood, Kirishima stood by in respectful silence.

Asami breathed in slowly. Lately he was feeling more and more exhausted. "I need water", the yakuza kingpin muttered. His grave, deep voice sounded tense. The man was sick, and tired. It was getting difficult to not show how badly he felt it anymore. It would only be a matter of time now until his rivals and enemies found out. He stood and approached to the floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the rain pouring down them, almost like looking up through a cascading waterfall. The greyish clouds gathering were getting so dark that the early evening light was looking more like it was later, nearing twilight. 

"Want to me to get the car ready, sir?"

"I need to finish this." Asami knew of Kirishima’s eagerness to get him home and underwater: after all, swimming was the best way for him to recover energy and thus, feel better. Even so, ‘feeling better’ seemed so impossible sometimes lately that there didn’t seem to be any use in even trying anymore. 

"But-"

Glancing over at his man, Asami calmly queried: "Are you questioning me, Kirishima?"

The secretary's face burned as he looked away. "No, sir."

Asami sighed and turned his face back to the windows for a moment. "I know you're worried about me, Kei. But I am okay. Even if I wasn’t, what else can we do? We did all we could... Sometimes, I wonder if we didn't just waste our time on this stupid theory."

After a few minutes, when Kirishima was sure he wouldn’t interrupt his boss, he replied in a low voice "This isn't just a theory, Asami-sama. I've done the research, very thoroughly. You have merpeople blood in you. Which means you do have a soulmate. This is your only cure. We just need to find them."

Asami Ryuichi wasn't one to dwell on emotions or fanciful thoughts, but a tiny part of him had never accepted his own nature. Half man, half merman, or “Mer”. It wasn't unheard of to have Other Blood in old, powerful, carefully cultivated families like the Asamis, but still... Those persons were never fully accepted, never completely fit into any Human or Other society. Merpeople especially wouldn't trust him, due to his human side, and humans would try to exploit his weaknesses if they knew of them. Without his soulmate, he wasn't as strong and as powerful as people thought he was.

This year, now in his mid-thirties, things had gotten worse for him. It wasn't just being away from their soulmate that weakened Mers, it was the actual physical distance of the separation that was poisonous for their souls; therefore, their bodies would slowly begin to sicken after they had physically matured. The pain in his chest could be unbearable at times, like an invisible hand was crushing his heart and lungs in his chest to the point he couldn't breath air any longer. Being weightless, underwater, was his only comfort.

After decades searching the oceans for the only person who could save him from the "lonely soul sickness" as it was called, Asami could only wonder if his soulmate had maybe died already, if perhaps it hadn’t been born yet, or, because he was a human hybrid, if he didn't even have one. When he was a child, he had nightmares about it, and he had woken up many times, upset, his face wet with tears. Now a grownup, he would never share these doubts with anyone, far too proud and way too angry at himself for even having them. He was, however, aware enough to avoid thinking about how his supposed soulmate was, wondering if they suffered like he was from being apart, or, if they had any symptoms whatsoever, and even spared a thought about him at all. It was bad enough not being sure if one really existed for him, much less think about what they might be going through.

A soft knock on the office door pulled him from his dark musings. Only one person would dare to disturb him during a workday aside from Kirishima without at least a call beforehand for permission. Kazumi Suoh, his second most trusted man, entered the office and bowed quickly before quietly clearing his throat a little. That by itself was unusual, as Suoh never showed signs of nerves, and instantly both Asami and Kirishima gave him their full attention.

"Asami-sama, it’s Sakazaki." Both Asami and Kirishima glowered. That wasn't a name they enjoyed hearing, by any stretch of the imagination, at any time.

"What now?" Asami said, lighting a Dunhill and blowing out an irritated cloud of smoke.

"We caught him in Sion territory."

The lord of the Tokyo underworld raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Sakazaki must have gone insane, taking a risk like that; there simply wasn't any other explanation. "What was that rat doing here?"

"He was trafficking, sir. Trying to set up an auction for quick cash. Probably figured it would be the last place anyone would expect him to be.”

Sakazaki just didn't know when to stop. It was always bound to happen, either getting caught invading another gang’s territory, or getting taken down by the police. 'It seems he finally ran out of luck, getting too clever for his own good’, Asami thought with a grim little smile. He was going to enjoy the spectacle of a very bloody beating, then making that bastard an example of what he did to people who thought they could invade his territory with impunity to perpetrate their own crimes. He’d make an especially brutal example in Sakazaki's case. Just because. The man was a fucking Being trafficker.

"How many victims, Suoh.”

Suoh hesitated, just a second or so, but Asami and Kirishima both noticed and frowned. "Two, sir... a male and a female. Both Mers.”

People like Sakazaki were the reason Mers rarely made contact with humans anymore. Asami could feel the rage spreading hot tendrils under his skin. It had taken a long time to finally track that hairy prick down, and many people and Others had suffered for it. But now that he had the chance, he’d take his sweet time taking him apart. It would take days for that piece of shit to finally die after what Asami planned to do to him…

(°)#))<<

Later, he wouldn't remember any details of that day, other than what was about to happen, so describing the ache in his chest and his slowly deepening unease would be almost impossible. 

He was in the back of a dark Lexus, keeping a low profile while they were on the move, having a smoke and trying not to think as he wrestled down any false hopes, like all the other times they'd encountered merfolk before. But despite his best efforts, something was troubling him. This time, something seemed to whisper to him in his mind that things were going to be different, even as he didn't have a specific reason to believe it. He had a sudden urge to order Suoh to pull the car over for a little while and sort himself out, but he wasn't going to show any signs of weakness to anyone over a temporary case of the jitters. 'I just need to get on with this and get it over with', he decided.

Too soon, yet not soon enough, the car was pulling up in front of the warehouse where Sakazaki's so called "treasure trove" was hidden away. Suoh got out of the passenger seat, went around the back of the car and opened his door then bowed to him. Nothing seemed out of the usual, but somehow, something was off kilter. He could feel it, the different vibe humming in the air about this place. He looked around, taking a moment to let the chilly drizzle cool his skin, the dampness making him feel a just a little better, but doing nothing for the furious thumping of his heart. If he didn't know himself better, he'd almost think he was about to start hyperventilating.

"This way, sir", said one of his man as he beckoned his group around the side of the structure. The area here was dark, but his sight was better than any human's, and he could make it al out clearly. They were in a dirty and seemingly abandoned warehouse block near the docks, and the garbage accumulated in the large bins nearby was not doing anyone's nostrils any favours. He could easily identify the smells of rotting fish remains, but his men were professional to the point of not even wrinkling a nose

Before entering through the large open doors on the side, he paused for a moment, looking over a dozen of Sakazaki's men kneeling with their hands behind them and various guns pointed at their heads. As expected of the men under Suoh's command, they were firmly in control of the situation. Unconsciously emphasizing this point, Suoh quietly mentioned from behind Asami's shoulder: "Sakazaki was taken elsewhere to soften him up for... questioning, sir."  
Asami smirked darkly, knowing precisely what kind of "questioning" that would be. Suoh and Kirishima were the best men he could ever hope for, both knowing his M.O. very well, and in some cases inviting themselves to participate in the sessions as well.

Inside the warehouse, the atmosphere hadn't improved any, in fact, it was far worse, dank with foul water and rotting vegetation. There were piles of smuggled counterfeit goods stacked about here and there, and Asami recognized it all as cheap garbage, certainly not worth being caught over. Apparently Sakazaki was a loser, even in the lucrative smuggling field.

Kirishima was once again talking to him, his steady voice could barely be heard since Asami's heart for some mysterious reason was pouding so hard in his ribcage he couldnt concentrate past the mess surrounding them. There wasn't any danger lurking nearby, so why the hell was he feeling all out of sorts?

At the back of the warehouse was a tank, no more than 8 feet tall or so, that occupied the whole back wall. The water was greenish and the scum on the glass was so dense that it was almost impossible to see anything inside the makeshift aquarium. It was disgustingly filthy, but Asami barely notice as his chest started to tighten unbearably once more. He moved toward the tank swiftly, narrowly avoiding stumbling over the filtration system wires on the floor. Kirishima and Suoh traded looks before shouting orders for the Sion men to empty the warehouse. Whatever was happening here, it was none of their business.

He didn't pay attention to any of that commotion, because even though no one was calling out to him, it was like someone was... He could feel it in his veins, through his skin, deep inside him. 'Is this... my soulmate?' he breathed. He needed to reach out, to touch it, to see it. It was the first time in his life that he could feel such powerful energy. It didn't seem to have any logic, but it also seemed to make perfect sense all at the same time. He was being quickly consumed by the urge to contact the source of such energy. Perhaps because he was so close to what was so vital and necessary in his life for the first time, he found he was losing control.

Kirishima had seen merpeople before, but every time he was in their presence, it was like the first time again, every time. Their mysterious nature and deceptively delicate features always attracted him on a certain level; there was nothing more fascinating to him than the sight of a mermaid. And while he was excited at the prospect of seeing a pair of merfolk, Asami's reaction was scaring him a little. He'd been friends with the man since their teens and had never seen him like this. He had been researching the merfolk bond for a long time, ever since his friend told him about his hybrid nature, and had yet to find a strong link to help his friend. He also secretly wondered if humans could feel like this, like they literally depended on one significant other to help them live and thrive, and he'd found that the thought had made him somewhat lonely.

"Kirishima!" Suoh urgently interrupted as the big man seemed ready to leap on his boss and pin him down in case their employer tried to access that dirty tank. He had been physically weakening this past year, and didn't need to be exposed to any diseases or parasites.

"Hold on, Asami-sama. I need a few minutes to make the proper preparations...", Asami's personal assistant advised, but before he could take out his phone, the sound of something heavy hitting glass thudded out as water splashed over the top of the clear wall. Looking at the tank, he saw the whole thing had actually rocked. The weight of all that glass, equipment and water was immense, how...

"What was that?" Kirishima heard his own hushed, voice tremble, shocked with admiration. 'Was that a silver tail? Silver Tails had all died out...'.

"He's scared and being protectively hostile, I can feel it." Asami said, touching the glass. "We need to get him out of there. Both of them. Now."

Suoh and Kirishima exchanged another look. They needed to get Asami out of there first if they wanted to avoid any instinctive aggression from either party. A large fanned tail hit the glass again, harder this time. And it definitely was silver. 

"Asami-sama, please, come with me." Kirishima took hold of his boss' arm tightly and pulled, but the man wouldn't move. "We'll need to sedate... whomever is in there in order to transfer them to clean aquariums and move them. Asami... Ryuichi!"

On a concious level, Asami knew better than to disregard Kirishima, but it was so hard to let go of this... attraction... after so many years of not permitting himself to even long for it. He looked into Kirishima's dark eyes and saw his man's steadfast resolve to protect him, as always. Despite the situation, nothing fundamentally had changed, and he knew it. Nodding, he followed his assistant out of the warehouse without looking back, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to leave the one in the tank if he did.


	2. Chapter 2

Akihito was roused by the fluorescent lights' shaky start as they came on overhead. He cracked an eyelid to make sure Ai and he hadn’t been separated during the afternoon, as their sleeps recently had not all been totally voluntary. If Ai had been taken, well, there’d be hell to pay. Again. But no, there she was, uncurling herself slowly, stretching her arms out over her head with a grumpy pout. Apparently SOMEONE woke up on the wrong side of the fish bowl. Then again, looking around, there really wasn’t a good side to this aquarium anyway. Not all the “collectors” who thought they had a claim to the pair had the same high standards when it came to looking after them, so the current state in the tank wasn’t all that shocking to him yet.

Since falling asleep after that nasty-tasting fluid was introduced into the water flow system, they’d spent about two days in the hold of a ship, travelling from wherever they’d come from to wherever they were now. And the trip here in the back of that… “truck”… the humans here called it? Was. Horrendous. The water had sloshed around, leaking past the edges of the loose-fitting cover, and the container was just a bit too large to actually brace anywhere in to stay steady in one place as it was being moved. No slings to secure themselves in or any supports to hang on to. The best he could do was push off the side of one wall with his hands while keeping his tail up tight against the other wall, trying to act like a hammock of sorts in a corner for little Ai to cling to to avoid being tossed about in the tank, maybe hurting herself against the glass. That wouldn’t have been good, especially if she had torn her fins or her extensive tail. Their keepers didn’t strike him as being especially careful or concerned about them, and they seemed to expect him to handle her, so he had just looked out for her like he had since they were introduced into the same pen together several years and a couple of collectors ago. The fact that the makeshift filtration system had stopped working even before the ship had made it to port, and the lights had been left on all that time in the hold, meant that algae bloomed and had started to grow inside along the glass tank within the first few days.

The fact that it was gross was beside the point. Whenever they got fed, any leftover food debris wasn’t cleared out, the water hadn’t been partly replaced with anything clean yet, and nobody had even glanced at the equipment. A couple more days like this, and they’d be reduced to gulping air at the surface. And the frickin’ algae was now growing in leaps and bounds. He remembered once accidentally having touched a patch of brown algae growing over a bunch of the green stuff when someone had neglected them once before, and his hand had itched and burned for days. Ai didn’t need that, and he didn’t need to try and look after her discomfort when they were left to their own devices.

Some human guy, with an unsettling amount of facial hair and that seemed to have a problem with too much body slime, had come by as they were unloaded from the truck that morning, and after looking through the lid, seemed angry about the condition of the tank. Soon afterwards, some men had brought buckets and started filling them with the water they‘d been in for days and hauled them away, emptying about a quarter of the tank. Then they’d shoved a dirty hose in and started filling the tank with unfiltered, chemical-smelling water, stirring up the rotting remains of their meals, and the resulting ammonia and effluents, making Ai nauseous and Aki’s anxiety and morose feelings start to climb. Things were not looking very good for them here.

He wouldn’t have even noticed the other men all dressed alike in dark clothes over a lighter piece, with a thin black stripe that ran down their chests, looking like a school of Coral Pennant fish he’d once seen in another tank, if he hadn’t dimly heard aggressive noises and their workers hadn’t dropped what they were doing, put their hands up, walked to the far side of the room and left, escorted by the dark men. Those humans held small pieces of plastic and metal that the workers seemed frightened of.

After some time comforting Ai, Aki felt something unusual, and looked up to see the dim shape of one of those dark men getting closer to the tank. Beyond annoyed with the move and upset with their treatment (or lack of…), the boy bristled his silvery fins and decided to let these new humans know they weren’t going to be pushed around any more. Putting Ai safely in the far corner, Aki swam in a tight circle and rushed at the end near the snooping human, and at the last second pulled a tight somersault, using the momentum to hit the glass with his tail hard. It actually moved the tank a little, even though the boy thought that might be more to do with the container not resting level on the frame under the aquarium where the filtration system rested. Twisting about and gliding back to check on Ai, he felt an energy presence approaching closer like a pressure wave that splashed back and forth against the walls of the tank. It was disruptive enough that he had to do something to make it go away for now. Ai was ill, and he wasn’t feeling so great either. Circling the tank again, he got the impression of a fully grown, strong dominant male Mer nearby, and swimming faster, he started tumbling as soon as he pulled out of the turn, and slammed his tail against the glass again, as hard as he could, this time making his tail spines tingle from the impact. That finally seemed to get the message through to that other male, as he felt him go away reluctantly. Which was fine by him. They could meet the neighbours some other time. Right now, he and Ai needed to concentrate on feeling a lot better, a lot faster.

 

<°7<( <°7<( <°7<( <°7<( <°7<( <°7<( <°7<( <°7<(

 

The Asamis had been known to be unrivalled in both the legal and illegal business worlds of Japan for generations. The latest scion to take up the mantle had shown he was a ruthless apex predator, ascending to the top of the power food chain at a rather young age, with minimal disturbance to the other players already in place. He had it all: good personal and familial connections, an army of loyal men, from the highly proficient Kirishima and Suoh, down to nameless rabid street curs who were willing to kill at his bidding, then die to protect his name. Wealth, power, looks, refined taste and a finely honed mind, all in one package. One wouldn't imagine that a man like this would permit himself to have a weakness, but he did. And he was becoming very conscious of it, too.

Right about now, his “weakness” would soon be recovering from severe malnourishment and neglect in a much bigger and nicer “aquarium” than probably any he’d been in before. He, and the little female, would be waking up soon in a quarantine observation tank that was like a small slice of the ocean itself, with smooth rocks for lounging against in the warm water, a sandy bottom to relax and scratch themselves on, room to be alone in, and kelp to roll themselves up in for comfortable sleeping. They would be provided with healthy, tasty, well-balanced meals. And once they were declared healthy and recovered enough, an even more colourful home would be awaiting them with beautiful corals and vibrantly hued Nudibranchs, sea anemones, starfish, seahorses and other specimens found in tropical waters. On another connected level were sea turtles, small spotted rays, stunning parrotfish, clownfish and angelfish, Harlequin Crabs, a sweet little Blue Ringed Octopus or two who would follow them around when they swam there, in hopes of catching a tasty treat from the schools of fish that would part as they’d glide by, and in the deepest level, some aloof eels, Asami's favourite characters (a few grumpy Mantis Shrimp that lived among the rocks and shells), jellyfish and some small squid. Even more lived within the thriving reef three raised parking levels high, including a few Sarcastic Fringeheads that Asami could swear was meant as a private joke between Kirishima and Suoh about him - the fish wasn’t attractive in the least, but the funny name alone was worth having them in there. There was even a small playful pod of captive-bred Pacific Harbour Porpoise rescued from a now defunct ocean amusement park roaming and playing in there, the closest thing that Asami would allow himself to have for a dog.

Deep down, he knew it was part of his Mer nature to not only personally arrange and maintain his aquatic domain in the most eye catching and spectacular ways possible to attract others of his kind to visit, and thus hopefully bring in his soul mate, but the sheer amount of life in there was enough to instinctively feel like home to any merfolk. They tended to be very social creatures in their own environments, minding the fish and sea growth they depended on for food together in their family colonies, and going to see other colonies nearby, but they didn’t like to be too crowded together as Mers needed space to swim. And Asami didn’t mind bragging that his personal “colony” space was much larger than a lot of private family ones he’d been to before, too.

This giant aquarium was located in an unsuspected area of Tokyo, an underground Sion Corp. facility stories deep in the foundation under Asami's headquarters. The levels above his private territory were dedicated to his Other half’s need to understand and balance his aquatic nature with his human part. Far from being a dank and dismal area, this place was bright and humming with activity, the rooms and corridors full of white coated scientists, researchers and members of the ever alert security team, all unsuspected by the business people, expensively suited visitors, staff and office workers above.

Right now, his right-hand man Kirishima was dealing with every tiny detail having to do with his soulmate’s and a young mermaid’s well being. They were being minimally sedated and transported to the recovery tank in Asami's underground clinic while being supervised by a merfolk specialist. They would be examined and taken to quarantine, then slowly acclimated to the water in the massive reef aquarium and its ambient temperature. All Asami could do at the moment was try to busy himself reviewing contracts and signing important documents, and not let himself get distracted by thinking of his newly found mate, however impossible that task might be. If he didn’t focus, he wouldn’t be able to work now, then take the necessary time needed to slowly introduce himself to his guests. After dealing with Sakazaki in the most satisfying way possible, of course.

 

The Sarcastic Fringehead: regular, and extra grumpy -


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **** NEW TAGS **** TAKE NOTE, PLEASE ****

Kirishima had already given him a whole list of reasons why Asami should not get closer to his alleged soulmate just yet. The boy was probably stressed physically and mentally from being kept in such an insalubrious (delivered with a firm downturn of the corners of the mouth) environment, being neglected gods alone knew how long, and finally for being flung in with new people and new surroundings. Throwing in a dominant male at him now all of sudden would positively scare and/or piss the boy off, and while Asami enjoyed playing love/hate games with people he was trifling with, he finally agreed that he didn't want to traumatize his own soulmate.

He heard a soft knock on the door before his PA entered. Kei’s face didn’t change, but through decades of dedicated working together, they had developed a kind of mental simpatico between the two of them, almost like telepathy. A slight change in breathing, a quiet sigh, a certain look or voice tone, and they knew what was on the other’s mind. There was no mind games, no lying, no pretending, nothing held back when it came to Asami Ryuichi and Kirishima Kei.

A slow, barely audible sigh escaped from Kirishima as he went over a message on his phone, which told Asami all he needed to know for the moment. "So... they are doing fine?”, the mafia lord confirmed.

“Yes. The male... is a rather impressive little Mer. When he came in, he was in worse condition than the female. The specialist said that his breed in particular can filtrate dirty water in a limited area around him under certain conditions, so it seems that in an attempt to spare his friend from some serious discomfort, he allowed more damage to happen to himself."

"You said his general condition was the worst of the two?"

"Yes, Asami-sama. But it has improved quit a bit since he was introduced to the quarantine tank."

Asami smirked as a random thought crossed his mind. "He must be pissed at being in a quarantine tank. He's feeling better, but still doesn’t like the people around him intervening."

Kirishima was puzzled. "But... the conditions he’s in now are much better than the ones he was in before."

"I know..." Asami's smirk grew bigger. "Back in that dirty warehouse, I felt his spirit. He’s a wildcat, a little spitfire. While he may appreciate the help, it doesn't mean he'll show it easily. Besides, he still doesn't know what we want from them  
yet.”

Kirishima was silent, trying to understand his boss’ apparent amusement at the boy's ill temper and manners.

"How about the female?"

"The... F-Female?"

Asami’s sharp eyes narrowed in speculation for a second. Kirishima Kei did not stutter. Ever. "Yes.”

"Uh... Right. Um, the female is... beautiful?”

"Indeed.”

"I mean, of course, that all mermaids are attractive in a variety of rather.. exotic ways. But females of this specific breed are more even so... I apologize. I’m still learning about them, sir."

Asami crossed his arms, trying very hard to keep a neutral face and tone. "I see", was all he could manage.

"Anyway, how are you feeling now, sir?"

And… cue a change of subject. "I’ve never felt better, actually. Just by having him relatively close by, I’m feeling twice the man I used to, and even more larger than life. For the first time in a long time. Now that I think of it, perhaps I should put this boost in in my mood to good use…”

 

<><><><><><><>

 

As Sakazaki slowly became conscious again, his groggy mind realized that, right now, the loose ends of his business had him all tied up. Literally. His wrists and ankles were secured to each corner of the tank by rubber cords. He figured out pretty quickly that he was naked, on his back, his ass cheeks resting on a thick layer of warm sand, up to his chin in water. The back of his head and neck seemed supported by some kind of brace, holding his face above the surface. How kind of his host. Because drowning him while he had been unconscious would have been far too forgiving of a man like Asami Ryuichi. And judging by the fact that he was in one of those transfer tanks that looked like a glass coffin, Asami wasn’t in a forgiving mood for trespassing on his property. The best he could hope for is a school of large, hungry red-bellied piranhas to be dumped into the tank with him.

“Ah, good. You’re awake.” Turning his head just enough to keep his mouth clear of the water, Sakazaki found his captor casually leaning his back against a wall by his feet. Despite the fact that the debonair businessman had been in the room with him, possibly watching his balls bob in the water as the tank was filled, being naked (and restrained) in this man’s presence was intimidating. Even though they had been members of some of the the same clubs and gym as his gambles paid off and his wealth increased, he clearly had never been allowed anywhere near the man at the top of the Tokyo’s business and social world.

Taking off his suit jacket and vest, the tall, dark man draped them over a hanger on a nearby coatrack. Moving back towards the end of the tank as he undid his cuff links, put them in his pants pocket, then rolled up his loose French cuff sleeves, getting comfortable. 

Seating himself in a sharp looking leather chair that he apparently had brought in for his entertainment, Asami poured himself a drink and set it aside on a small table beside him as he retrieved a Dunhill cigarette and lit it, looking towards the open door and nodded. Settling back in the chair after carefully pulling up his pant legs slightly to make sure his bent knees didn’t stretch the expensive material, he smoked in silence for a moment before he started talking, watching the ash build on his cigarette’s end.

“I saw the crap you had accumulated in the warehouse. Even if you had unloaded all of it, the payoff would have been so paltry, I likely would have let you go with a severe warning after having one of your kneecaps drilled for trespassing in my territory. Maybe even let you keep the profits for your medical bills and rehab. But no, you had to become involved with trafficking, on my property. Merfolk trafficking. Like you were purposely trying to insult me.” Flicking the ash into the ashtray, Asami continued. “What were your plans for the pair you brought in?”

Nervously moistening his lips in the mostly full tank, Sakazaki made two attempts to clear his throat before he could speak. “The, uh, collector I got them from told me that if I needed to make money fast, I c-could partially harvest the male’s liver for human transplant, several times a year since it would grow back quickly. I could sell the female’s blood and serum continuously for t-top price to any receiver in any preferred market. A-And he said any kids they had could be harvested too, or sold off as needed. He gu-guaranteed they’d s-sell, no problem.”

Asami’s expression was really becoming foreboding. “Indeed. And you didn’t think that such valuable investments for you warranted better care in transit?” 

“I-I-I d-didn’t cont-t-trol h-how they were sh-shipped to me…” The shivering he was experiencing was completely automatic as the temperature of the water was cooled dramatically. His growing terror, on the other hand, had everything to do with the man skewering him with that dark look. 

“But you could control how they would be cared for along the way. Nothing deserved that kind of disgusting neglect.”

“The c-collector owed me for a c-couple of shipme-ments. He d-didn’t c-care what h-happened to them. H-he said they wer-weren’t worth what h-he’d sunk into they. Th-they were too much trouble. I told him I c-could handle a p-pair of kids.”

Asami chuckled at the man’s stupidity. “Well. Had I known, I would’ve waited a few days and had some recording devices planted for my entertainment. It would have been great fun to watch the merfolk pick off your men one by one. You probably never would’ve even suspected until you walked into the warehouse one day to find the pair of them waiting for you, angry and famished.” Raising the hand with his smoke in it to gesture, Asami continued as a couple of men walked in, carrying a bucket in each hand. “Speaking of famished, I invited some guests over for dinner, and they must be positively starving by now…” 

The men took turns each setting down the buckets, then carefully poured in the contents of each one into the tank before they departed, leaving a twitching, unable to struggle Sakazaki alone with Asami, and his guests: lampreys. Wiggling, eel-like, foot long parasites that preferred a liquid diet. Namely, blood and body fluids. Fresh and warm. Sakazaki caught sight of one twisting near his face, the dumped buckets raising the water level above his chin. A large oval disk on the underside of the fish’s head was its mouth, with rings of pointed “teeth” spiralling down to the tongue, which had a pair of the vicious teeth on its tip. All the better for scouring clear fish scales away to attack the soft flesh beneath. These swimming nightmares were settling in to points on their victim’s immobilized body, suctioning themselves on tight before starting to grind away on its skin. Sakazaki would have done well to have relaxed to his fate, open his mouth wide and breathed in the water; drowning being the much kinder and quicker fate. But his hindbrain had kicked in, screaming to survive no matter what, and he was twisting and wriggling, yelling and choking on water, trying to get away from those teeth. All to no avail. Several had attached to his soft belly, making themselves right at home. One was latched onto his neck, in a spot where some of his date rape victims had tried licking or kissing him before being brutally taken then discarded for his twisted amusement, or sold for cash, as the case may be. One was on his inner thigh, near the femoral artery, chewing through tender skin and sparking nerve endings. And one, dear gods, one was on his taint, behind his balls and above his anus, starting to gnaw its way into him. And as he tried futilely to thrash about in the glass case, terrified rolling eyes caught sight of the king of his personal hell, sitting there, casually sipping his drink as various pincers, eyestalks and antennas of carrion-eating crabs and large scavenger shrimps started to protrude from the concealing sand, attracted by the weak struggles of their slowly dieing meal.

 

<><><><><><><>

 

Kirishima made his way into his room with that effortless way of moving he had. Inside, he didn't feel near as calm as his outer façade made him seem to all those employed at Sion. In fact, he almost couldn't even recognize himself. Taking off his glasses to rub his strained and tired eyes, he walked over to the wet bar in the corner of the living room. Since they’d rescued those merfolk two days ago, Asami, Suoh, himself and several of their senior security team members had been living in the underground complex, and the unfamiliar surroundings didn't help him feel at ease. He took off his jacket and loosened his tie, trying to tell himself he just need to relax a bit. Get a bite to eat. And possibly even get laid. 

He found himself distracted quite recently, with dirty thoughts ruining his concentration and his usually collected state of mind. And not for one second had he convinced himself that Asami didn’t notice anything.

The problem was... her. The Mer girl.

Her cleaned hair was a streaked dark blond, and so long it was way past her slim waist. Her mocking eyes shone like copper, and her sinfully plump, pale rose lips gave meaning to the word ‘temptation’.

He gulped down a shot of whiskey, barely noticing the burn on his tongue. When it came to any female, he knew better than let himself get drawn in. And, if he’d read his homework right, this one was as dangerous as she was deceitful. She wasn't just beautiful, though he would be lost trying to describe her if someone asked him what was so fascinating about Ai. That was the name she’d whispered in his ear when he had gotten too close for his own good before they were moved here.

Her tail was a pearl red with bluish tones at the fin tips, and lavender hues mixed in near the base of her tail; it was gorgeous and sinuous beyond words, and mesmerizing as it flowed about her in the water. It was also strong enough to break a human’s rib cage with a single directed squeeze. There were so many different kinds of merfolk communities, so much variety in Mer types that for him, a human, to even think of trying to learn the basics of each one would take more than just his lifetime to study. And he just didn’t have that kind of time.

As lovely and dangerous as Ai was, he was smart enough to not trust her easily, but oh, he wished so badly he could. He was hardly getting any sleep the past few nights, thoughts of her keeping him up.

Kirishima pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated at himself. He shouldn’t be thinking so much about her, the Silver Tail was the priority as Asami's soulmate. Silver Tails had been so rare, even in the past, that there wasn’t much info available on the boy’s kind. But, as a perfectionist, he wouldn’t rest until he knew all there was to know about the boy for his friend’s sake.

He looked at the laptop he had put down on the sofa, then went to clean up and eat instead. If he didn’t, then he’d start looking online for legends, scraps of folklore, any type of lead without a second thought, likely until first light tomorrow morning.

Laying back in the bath, relaxing in the warm, sudsy water, he replayed what all had happened during the day. The work part was brief and uninteresting, and as he relaxed, his mind wandered back to the only excitement for the day. He’d decided to check on any developments of the merfolks' recovery, soon after leaving his boss to have fun in his own sadistic little way, without a second thought. He’d never had much patience for that greasy man’s schemes anyway, plus, Sakazaki had brought this all down on himself.

According to the schedule in his memory, it was now lunchtime for those fascinating aquatic kids, whatever their actual age was - one never knew, merfolk aged slowly. Their caretakers were supposed to deliver them an extensive sampler of fish, seaweed and kelp to find out what their preferences were. These were all healthy food selections, certainly better than what the pair were accustomed to eating in that filthy tank they'd been in, but the researchers were still in the learning stage. They’d already found out that the pair loved raw oysters but did not eat live crabs. If this was simply a matter of taste, or if it was because the Silver Tail liked to play with them as if they were pets, there was no way to know. But whatever the reason, the quarantine tank was now crawling with them.

Kei passed his magnetic ID card through the reader beside the door, and as he entered the quarantine room, he could hear the distinct sound of splashing water and frightened men yelling. Mildly concerned, he walked in and stood dumb at the sight of the chaos.

Later on, one of the men would tell him that he felt drawn to the edge of the tank by the seemingly harmless, sweet and really cute merfolk girl who had pointed a delicate finger first at him, then at her own open mouth as if it she was a baby bird that needed to be fed.

Bewildered by a slight wave of jealousy, Kei had retained his stoic expression as he imagined the rest of the story. Ai, the little demon, had tricked the man and pulled him into the tank. The other worker, holding their lunches, including sushi and salmon rolls, had put them down to help his buddy, who couldn't get out of the tank by himself. Unsurprisingly, he got yanked in too, and a merry round of “synchronized drowning” began. 

Kei had walked in on Ai pinning the first worker by the neck into one corners of the tank while nibbling on his fingers, the blood drops starting to stain the water. The other worker had been hollering and splashing around in circles in a panic. The male merfolk, meanwhile, was perched on the corner edge of the opposite side of the tank, long silvery tail happily swinging side to side. He was cupping sushi in both hands, humming in appreciation, and happily munching on as much of it that could fit in his mouth.

Approaching the tank calmly, he heard the pathetic cries of the men calling for help. Ai caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye, let go of her victim and came swiftly towards him him in a single move, grasping hands out before her, the sudden movement as fluid as a marine predator. The glass vibrated when her fingers hit it, and the water exploded over the rim of the tank, soaking Kei, but he didn’t even blink. She looked surprised for a brief second before her look turned decidedly annoyed. ‘Oh?’ Kei thought, slightly amused. If she was trying to intimidate him, she would soon realize that he was unlike any other man she’d dealt with before; not some kind of easy, stupid prey. As if to test her, Kei moved closer and placed his open hand against the glass, mere inches away from her face. Those beautiful copper eyes offered him a different look than he’d seen before, if only just for a moment: surprised, or offended, it was hard to tell.

The men were busy climbing over themselves trying to get out of the tank, and the boy had already gone back into the water when she finally touched the glass with her open hand on her side. Kei felt his heart pounding, though they weren’t really touching, but even with the web between her spread fingers, her petite hand was so much smaller, pressed up against his own...

"What’s happening in there?" Suoh called out from the doorway, his deep voice breaking the silence like a hammer through a plate glass window. Ai's eyes widened as if surprised at herself, then with a dismissive flick of her tail fins, she glided away to try some of the nummies a contented Aki had saved for her. Which left him here, now, in the bath, with a big problem on his hands: the head of his hard on was sticking out of the soap bubbles, insistently wondering when they could go see Ai again.

This is how we envisioned the Merfolk, using Betta Fish tails, fins and scales... This is what Ai would look like:


	4. Chapter 4

The male Mer from the warehouse had started reaching out to them telepathically a few days before. Ai, the little snob, didn’t want to talk with “a human’s pet”, as she referred to him, until she had a chance to size him up herself, see if he might be a problem now for Aki, or future competition. Aki had replied reluctantly to him at first, because he was younger, probably smaller, and he wanted to avoid trouble with the resident merfolk for now, if he could help it. 

The male seemed familiar with wherever they were, wasn’t stressed or twitchy about the humans around all the time, and seemed to think of his aquatic pen as his “home”…? As in “home territory”? Aki’d never heard of a resident merfolk refer to their tank as “home” before. Most other captives he’d talked to before just rated where they were at the moment by how uncomfortable they were compared to some other places they’d been kept, and just hoped the next place they were sent to wasn’t too bad. To be in one place so long as to refer to it as “home” was novel. 

Early that morning, Aki was just chillin’ out on the sandy bottom of the tank, playing with a couple of the crabs and occasionally scratching his ass scales against the sand, when their contact here gave them an update. 

“Akihito.”

“Hey. What’s up?” 

“I heard you and your friend will be moved to your permanent housing later today. It sounds like your medical quarantine is over.”

The silvery blond was confused. “You heard? How? From where?”

A deep chuckle flowed through his head. “I heard it from one of the work crews. They were saying that you and the girl will be moved just before you go to sleep this afternoon.”

Suddenly not feeling like playing while his tummy flippity-flopped, Aki groused as he put the crab in hand down and watched them scuttle off. “What are they going to do, drug us? Knock us out? Ugh, I hate when the tank gets emptied out ‘til there’s next to no water left and the humans try to scoop us up in nets. Geez, Ai will freak if they mess up her dorsal fin again. The last time that happened, her spines got bent over nearly in half and it took forever before they looked normal again. They hurt her the whole time.”

“Hm, that does sound rather painful. These humans aren’t that careless here, though.  
I’ve found them to be careful in their work, very professional, and most will try to be friendly if you are. If you don’t want to be sedated for the move, would you prefer to be fully awake for it?”

“What difference does it make? What, they’re going to ask us what we’d like? Even if they did, I don’t speak this language yet, so it wouldn’t matter anyway.”

“No, but I do. I can pass the message along what you’d think is best for both of you to the people that look after you two.”

Aki snorted. “They’d listen to you, would they? And they’d do as you ask, just like that.” The boy swore he could feel the older Mer’s mental shrug. 

“Why not? They’re here to make sure we’re all well taken care of. So, tell me what you think would be the easiest way to transfer you both to the new aquarium, and I’ll tell them.”

Aki sighed. Maybe long captivity had made the other male a little spongy between the ears. “Fine. Do you have any thoughts?”

Many, many stories above where the quarantine tank was, Asami leaned back deeper into his leather office chair and closed his eyes as he puffed air through his lips. Oh, the thoughts he’d been having as his strength and vitality came back, especially concerning his own little soulmate... The draw towards him had been getting harder and harder to deny every day that passed. Kirishima had finally given in and patched in a camera feed from the health care room where the pair’s tank was into his network. ...Mostly because Suoh had already caught Kei secretly using the feed on his own, watching Ai on his laptop in his office. 

His enticing silver blond boy. That long tail of his hinted at speed and agility, those barely hinted at ab muscles made him seem more athletic then weak, the way that fin on his back started out the colour of aged gold at the end of his long hair, then turned paler and shimmered midway up, until it seemed transparent at the tips, letting the darker silver spines shine through. His slender arms might seem weak, but Asami was certain that they were deceptively toned, all the better for grappling and entrapping with. ‘Mmm, what will my boy do when I have him in my arms, unable to escape? Will he try to deny me, struggling and wriggling to escape, or will he know it deep down inside him and let himself give in to me?’ Adjusting himself slightly, he cleared his mind of those thoughts to contact his boy again.

“Can you control yourself Akihito, and remain calm while allowing them to lower slings into the tank, and then swim into them, letting them close around you and feel them snug up against your arms and fins, and lift you up, out of the water before they swing you over your old tank before putting you down into a transfer tank and roll you away?” 

Akihito shivered, partly from the scenario description, partly from that smooth  
voice in his head putting ideas in there he’d never had before. Not to say he hadn’t been transferred that way before, once or twice in higher end places, but the idea of going in willingly and trusting the humans not to screw up or worse, intentionally hurt either one of them, well, that might be a little much to take… But he had to watch out for Ai. So, he could do this. 

‘I can. I won’t like it, but I can do it. I need to look after Ai, and depending on what drugs they use, I’ll need to be alert enough to calm her down and keep her comfortable if things go sideways.’

‘What about a natural sedative instead of drugs? Humans have a taste for a native puffer fish that has a toxin in its body. They eat it raw, but carefully prepared, and even then, it still kills a number of them every year. Tell me, when you were younger, did you and your friends ever mess about with blowfish?’

Wow, this other Mer was talking about a totally different way of growing up than he had. How should he explain this… ’I was always in a tank, didn’t have playmates, and I was taken from my mother as soon as the human who had her needed her someplace else, so, no. Why?’

Aki felt anger boil from the other male for a moment, directed elsewhere, before he heard the voice again. ‘Well, blowfish are another kind of puffer, and if one of us eats some of it, it’ll relax us. Enough of it makes us drowsy, and a whole one lets us drift off to sleep. Would that help your friend’s move?’

The boy stopped and thought about it. If Ai struggled, someone would get hurt, and he doubted it would be either one of them. But, he had been unfortunate enough to get in the way of one of her rampages before, and he didn’t enjoy the aftermath. Especially the way she apologized for his clumsiness in getting in her way lead him to get hurt. ‘Yeah, relaxed would be good.’

‘Do you have a regular snack before you sleep?’

‘Usually. I think before the human’s lunchtime. Uh, noon?’

‘Fine. I would suggest you only have three or four bites yourself if you want to stay awake enough to watch over your friend. It will help take the edge off your nerves.’

Aki pondered for a bit, wondering at just how much he wanted to trust this voice. The other one wouldn’t be the first resident male to try and pull something to ensure their place in the hierarchy of wherever they’d been moved to. But, at least this one didn’t seem like he needed to prove anything. And, in the end, what did he really have to lose? ‘Ok. Thanks.’

 

>',XX,<<

 

The new aquarium was HUGE. Never in his life could he have imagined a place like this. A perfect private aquatic paradise. It wasn't like the ocean – not that either of them had ever seen the ocean, but some adult Mers they’d been around had told them about it. And honestly, given his druthers, he druther be safely inside here than stressed Out There. C’mon, giant-ass meat eater fish that were able to raise their body temperature to what the surrounding water was AND that grew to be the size of a truck trailer?! N’uh uh, no thanks. Obviously, Akihito had a part of him that wanted “to be free”, whatever that was, but this place was better than anything he’d heard about the outside world. It wasn't too hot or too cold, the water current was pleasant enough that it would rock him gently when he rolled up in some kelp so he didn’t float away during his sleep, and the most dangerous things in here were sea urchins the width of his spread out fingers... well, to be honest, he didn't know that for sure, he hadn’t explored much more of the aquarium than the upper level where they’d been deposited. 

The move itself hadn’t been too bad with Ai taking it all unbelievably calmly after cleaning up on the blowfish. She had dozed off before the human crew came, he’d helped to manoeuvre her into the sling that had been lowered into their tank, then sat in his own sling to be moved over into his separate transit tank. The trip was short and sweet, and interesting, going through rooms with fish and sea life he’d never seen before. The ride in the lift down several floors hadn’t been too bad, and when the door had opened into this space, he couldn’t keep from gaping in amazement. It was by far the biggest tank the two of them had ever shared, and it was as comfortable as he could be while sensing the stranger dominant male nearby. Being cautious in the other’s territory seemed like a smart move on his part, at least until they all got introduced.

The gods forbid Ai knew what was on his mind, though, about how accustomed to this place he wanted to become. And she was right, if he was honest with himself. They didn't belong here; not only because the scent of the other male was everywhere, but also because they were meant to live free in the open ocean waters. And yes, there were colourful fish everywhere in the world, but not like in here. Someone had put so many of his favourite kinds of fish and corals in here he didn't want to sleep, he just wanted to nose about and enjoy it all as much as he could, while he could. From experience, the dominant male would likely try to eat him for dinner at some point in the future, or at least beat the snot outta him for trespassing, so he knew he should just let go of his fears and swim and play for the rest of the day. Ai was bitchy after the move, and had accused him of becoming domesticated, but oh, how hard it was to stop himself from wanting a good life, with plenty of food and to feel safe for a while – not to be confused with being completely free of risks and challenges, of course. After all, defying his captors and fighting for Ai and himself was exciting and got his blood pumping, but imagining himself somewhere he could be himself and just live contentedly for a time was irresistible.

He was feeling curious and a bit antsy after their move, since he’d spent years cramped in tiny, crappy tanks he wouldn’t put his little crab buddies in (he got to take them with him!), there was nothing he wanted more right now than to swim for a bit to get the kinks out and go chase fishies while Ai, grumpy after the move for who knew what reason, had found a perfect hiding place to sleep in. After half-assing at exploring their new living quarters, Ai had found that a solid wall of coral had a crack in it big enough for them to slip into that opened up into a large (to them) kelp bed big enough for five or six well-acquainted Mers to sleep together in. She had pouted and snarked at him not to dare disturb her as she selected the best place to anchor herself among to tall, leafy plants and rolled herself up, facing away from him as if she owned the place. Fine by him: he thought she was just enough of a buzzkill right now to consider slipping his crabbiest crab pal in with her (the one that nipped all the time at everything with its claws) and let it deal with her, but he then thought that might be too cruel of an experience to handle. For the poor crab.

An hour or so later, he had finally wore himself out snooping around and meeting a bunch the neighbourhood residents. One of the little Blue-Ringed Octopus had taken a liking to him, hanging out on his shoulder as he snooped around, watching what he was doing. As much as he didn’t like being alone, or letting Ai out from under his supervision, he decided he’d risk her displeasure when she woke up in the evening rather than curl up with her when she was as snarly as an old sea snake. He’d slept alone before, so as long as he could find a corner to protect his back, he’d be fine. Besides, his eight-armed little buddy Blue would keep an eye on him.

A little while later, after the boy had twitched and shook and started thrashing about in his sleep, the elevator door opened onto the small landing with the steps and ramp that went into the aquarium. A pair of expensive custom made leather shoes walked down the steps and into the salt water without hesitation, moving along the slight incline until he was chest deep in the water, his custom made suit completely soaked through and ruined. Coming up to where the boy was curled in a defensive ball, he ducked underwater, collected the blond into his arms as he winked at the guardian octopus attached to a lookout atop some coral, and moved back to the steps, murmuring softly as he went. 

Sitting down so he was still waist deep in the water, he held his little soulmate close, talking to him, assuring him he was safe, that he was there to look after him, and that it would all be better from now on. Resisting the urge to change because he’d lose the lap the blond was resting in, he kept talking, letting the Mer know that he was there to look after his boy, and as he stroked the long blond strands, admiring how the tips faded to silvery hues, he started to make promises and told him of all the things he wanted to show him of the world outside the water, and all that he found he longed to share. And even though Aki was fitful, half aware and resistant to the strong arms enfolding him at first, he eventually slid into a deep sleep as Asami kept watch.

...and this is Aki 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, blame it on utilities interruption due to weather, and my first stomach flu of the season (slow clap).
> 
> Anyhow, I'm gonna take next week off to complete writing the next chapter of "Blood Moon" and post it. A couple of requests came in to update now, dammit!, and when your co-author wants to know what happens next, ya kinda need ta update. (^_*)

 

Akihito had spend his whole life surrounded by humans, and although he would always learn a few words of the languages used around him, enough to at least learn what his collector had planned for him, he couldn't communicate with them. He decided that humans were simple creatures in a way, in that most of them were emotive enough to try to hide it, they could be empathetic to a fault, yet totally insensitive at the same time. They couldn't see it, but sometimes, their feelings could form around them like a nebulous mist and envelope them in a cloud of pheromones, emotional trace scents, and stress chemicals.

Akihito became pretty good at reading their emotions by the “fog” they walked around in. It was beyond him why merfolks could see human feelings, but the opposite never seemed to be true. He had been told once by an old Mer that everyone called Gramma, that bonds between humans and merfolk weren’t unheard of, and that in some cultures, it was considered perfectly normal to pair up together. Which, to his young mind, just meant that the world Out There was so much bigger than he could ever imagine, because he had sure never seen the least bit of friendliness between the two species anywhere he’d been. He’d tried imagining what being a hybrid half merfok, half human would be like, able to wander about outside on land or in water, beyond any tanks walls, and found he couldn't.

In his limited word, humans treated merfolk like possessions, toys or pets; anything, in fact, but intelligent, sensitive creatures. The old Mer lady also taught him about merfolk having a "dual-nature". This concept of being linked to them by his own two legged, air-breathing form seemed a bit complicated, yet he still should’ve be able to do it, this double-nature was one of the few sacred things every merfolk was taught and understood from an early age. At least, if they had been raised by a parent until they were at least four or five years old. He should be able to turn his tail into a pair of human legs, or at least an semblance of them as Mer legs were slightly different, with a few translucent, shimmering soft remnant scales on the ankles and outer thighs where fins normally were. Even though, to his mind, there was no sense in doing that while still being submerged in a tank, he should be able to do it... he just couldn't. And if he was honest with himself, he would admit that he was just disappointed in himself about it. He felt stupid and just plain lacking. He’d even got put into a situation that turning his tail into legs became a necessity to not make others suffer, but, he couldn't do it. He didn't know how to do it, there was no physical changing happening, he didn't even believe he could do it to save his life.

Soon after being taken from his mother, he went to a circus in Thailand. He was the new attraction, the Silver Child, and as such, was expected to bring in money for quite some time. He didn't really care what humans thought of him, or what they had planned out for him yet, he was just excited to be put in a tank with other merfolk. He never had any friends, with the exception maybe of old Gramma, wherever she was now. He found out soon enough that making friends with a bunch of unsupervised preteen girls of any species in a competitive environment like the circus tank was wishful thinking. The circus merfolk girls were a pack of jealous, immature, mean little bitches. One redhead girl fussed over his hair colour and tried to flatter him, keeping an eye on the pack of girls at the far end of the tank, but even to such a young boy, she sounded off, and Aki sensed danger. She told him he was so exotic, prettier than her even. That they had never seen such a metallic silvery tail, and surely their Master, (whatever THAT was), would fall head over heels for him.

A separate blond kid close to his age snorted at that word "master". He didn't know at the time, but he was gonna get used to Ai's snorted commentary over the years. Suddenly, he found himself swarmed by the other Mers, all except Ai. She floated nearby, arms crossed, fins flared, and watched the scene unfold from her corner, with a dirty look on her face. Just like she knew something bad was about to happen.

If he thought he felt uncomfortable under their prying, envious eyes, he had no idea until they started poking at him, making him flinch.

‘Oh my,’ one of them cooed before plucking out a tender scale near where his waist was ticklish with a quick move. Aki had cried out because, great gods of the Deep, that hurt like a motherfucker (the first human words he’d learned on his own). ‘Look at how pretty it is!’ Up close, not even Akihito had noticed this, but his scale was pearlescent in a variety of beautiful, delicate pastel shades from gold to pink to blue over the silver background. The scale had the delicacy of a flower petal (not that Akihito knew what a flower was). The saltwater stung the little wound, irritating it, and that was the first time he’d bled in that circus tank.

Ai frowned in her corner, lowering her arms and flexing her fists, reds and blues starting to flush throughout her fins in glaring hues. The new boy hadn’t done nothing but be pretty, and that’s only ‘cause that’s what he was. Another girl, with a bluish tail that had indigo freckles all over it and short pewter hair grabbed his head by a fistful of his waving hair, yanking hard, and projected to all the merfolk there ‘You think you're somethin’ special, huh? Think your charm’s that you’re all cuddly and sweet? Well, we can change that.’ Another one came up to him, taking hold of his right arm, her claws digging in deep enough to hurt, and sneered ‘He probably thinks he's better than all of us, too.’ A bully from behind shoved him between the shoulders. ‘He certainly was pricey enough. I heard the reason Master decreased our food allotment was to save up enough money to buy this kid. That won’t do, ‘cause clearly, he ain’t worth it.’ Akihito tried to pull away, but he couldn’t as yet another mermaid grabbed his left arm and hung on tight despite his struggles. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling anymore: humiliated, angry, scared? It really didn’t matter, the situation was out of his control and way over his head. ‘I’m sorry.’ He pleaded, feeling small and miserable. Nobody should have to go hungry because of him. ‘But –‘

The one who hung onto his hair let go so she could grasp his neck instead, but before she could, a sudden pressure wave flung all his tormentors tumbling away from him into the heavy glass sides of the tank as a small hand took hold of his and kept him in place. The brooding mermaid from the corner, Ai, was there between him and the bullies, as sudden and fierce as a squall. ‘It's not his fault; compared to him, you lot look like a bunch of pasty dead fish. Fuck off an’ die!’ She snarled, and right there and then, he started to think of her as the best family and friend anyone could ever hope for. As for her, it was like adopting a baby bird that couldn’t fly or feed itself yet. He was pitiful and helpless and kinda scrawny, and she just couldn't help herself.

Aki had been bought by an unlicensed family circus, and as such, all of the exhibits there were expected to perform for their keep too. The showstopper trick the merfolk were supposed to do on cue was to transform their bodies to have legs. Never mind that in this form, the girls were naked, still in their tank and unable to breathe oxygen from the water or air because the tank had a lid on it when customers were around. The boy, being so young and untrained, didn’t know how to do that yet. Because all the Mers were kept in the same small observation tank, all the merfolk would share his punishment for not teaching him properly what he should do after his debut appearance fell flat. They all knew what was going on, because some of the keepers taunted their charges with news of what was going to happen to them. Right before the punishment was to begin, Ai held his hand tight and told him to be strong. She wasn’t mad because she was rather used to punishments since she was always doing whatever she wanted anyhow, therefore, her body had gotten used to them and she wouldn’t suffer like he would the first time. She promised she would protect him from the angry mermaids’ retaliation if he hadn’t recovered by the time they did.

Just then, the collector made his grand entrance. Middle aged, fat, unpleasant looking and smelling of the cheap, foul cigars he puffed on, he left a lot of to be desired in a human being. He checked out all the older girls moving about agitatedly in the tank, then looked Akihito over and leered. Signalling with the fingers holding his smoke, he slouched against the seating stand, and watched as some workers brought in a gas powered portable generator and a long extension cord. The other mermaids darted about the tank, pleading and begging, banging against the tank walls as the generator was primed and coughed unwillingly into life, and the cord was plugged into it. Accepting the other end of it from one of his employees, he twirled it lazily about in his hand as he slowly pushed himself up and sauntered over to the tank, watching the preteens start to panic at his approached. One of them turned to the blond pair in the tank and made like she was going to grab the boy and shove him out the tank, but before Ai could try to protect Aki, the collector casually flipped the end of the extension cord up over the edge of the tank and into the water within.

Even though it was a smaller tank and they were all crowded in fairly close, the salt water was a better electrical conductor than their skin and scales were, so while they weren’t electrocuted, they did suffer a painful shock strong enough to cause various degrees of muscle paralysis before the short circuit made to generator quit. And as the Mers started to recover, the collector pointed out several mermaids to his workers that were then pulled from the tank and taken away, followed by their master. They returned much later back to the tank, stumbling and whimpering, before being dumped back in and watched to make sure they changed back into their mermaid form instead of trying to drown themselves. They huddled by themselves, distressed and shaking, as the others kept their distance.

Thereafter, the mermaids rejected Akihito because he couldn't do the dangerous stunt, and the performances always ended up with the others being forced to share in his punishment. If it wasn't for Ai’s protection, they would have ripped him apart after the very first time. The circus owner finally decided to separate him into a smaller tank by himself, for better viewing of the rare hued fins and tail, and frankly, to protect his investment.

Frustrated with this turn of events causing him to be separated from Ai, and fearing he might be sent somewhere else again, alone, Aki thrashed and banged into the walls until his little tank cracked and the water started to slowly leak from it. When the water ran low, he learned the hard way that:

1 - his tail became really itchy as it dried out and stuck to the sides and bottom of the tank, 2 - dehydration made him feel like he was burning up from the inside out, and 3 - still in Mer form, he could hardly breathe, even face down, keeping his gill slits moist by turning his head from side to side in the little liquid left in the bottom of the tank.

The circus workers were taking far too long doing their rounds and hadn’t checked back on the Mers yet after the annoyance of transferring Aki. If the boy had been able to transform, being out of water like this wouldn't have hurt him anywhere near this bad. From the main tank, Ai changed and escaped, learning from various octopuses she’s seen in different places, first pushing the tank lid aside, then pulling herself out of the tank, and then dragging herself across the rough concrete floor, just to try and hold the water back from leaking out of his tank, desperate to cover the crack with her little hands because she knew how dangerous it was for a Mer to get so dry. That was the only time he’d ever saw her cry, because she couldn't do anything else to help him…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aki felt a deep, embracing comfort, like he’d never felt before. As he slowly rose up through the layers of sleep, he sensed he was being held by strong, familiar arms, even though he had never remembered being cradled like this before. It took him a second or two to register everything, but then he suddenly snapped fully awake. Whoever was holding him hadn’t left his tail, or anything else, out of water, thank the Tides!!!! But he was still mortified and more than a little offended at waking up in this predicament. Why the fuck was this (very) handsome (wait! scratch that!) human holding him, and why was he being held so close? Who did this guy think he was and why was his heart pumping so hard? Aki didn’t understand.

But, he felt it was his moral duty as a Mer to defend his honour and avenge this offence. Aki suddenly squirmed like a slippery eel and slipped from the startled human’s grasp. He dove along the coral walls, looking for someone in particular. Ah, there he was. Moments later, a splayed out crab came flying out of the water, to be grabbed reflexively midair by the startled man. Taking advantage of the human’s stunned confusion at being attacked by a flying crustacean, the crab reached up and caught the man’s nose tip firmly in his pincer.

Ai had been submerged, watching the half mer/half human holding her Aki close, listening in to the male tapping into Aki’s sleeping thoughts, and that’s how she learned that they were supposed to be soulmates. But she wasn’t about to trust any kind of human or Mer with her boy just yet. She was confused and annoyed with the surprise move as it was. Did her Aki know who this person was to him? As the hybrid looked up in her direction after she’s slapped the water with her tail in irritation, one hand grasping the dangling crab, she wondered how the fuck Aki didn't seem to realize what was going on. She stuck her hands out of the water and flipped the male off before sinking slowly below the surface.

Asami finally managed to convince the crab to let go of his nose, then stood up and left the aquarium level, holding his emotions tightly in check so Aki and Ai wouldn't know the extent of, or misinterpret, his feelings. He was FURIOUS. He had seen his boy’s memories from his dream state while he was in his arms and the need to avenge the boy and girl’s torture was eating his guts. He texted Kei that they needed to take a drive, then messaged Suoh to have a car ready for them. Kei found the two men smoking in the garage, waiting by the dark BMW for his arrival. None of them spoke while Kei drove out of the city, ending up an hour later in a parking area somewhere along Tokyo Bay, far away enough where he could let his rage seethe out without scaring the hell out of his merfolk guests.

He ran down what occurred to his men, and by the end, Kei had joined in chain smoking with the others. Asami told them that from his boy's memories, he knew the name and general location of said circus. Now, he wanted to go over there himself and make them pay. He described what had happened to the pair, and he could see his outrage reflected in his friends dark, unforgiving eyes. They were going to exact payback for both kids. Whoever this collector was, they’d abused the wrong Mers. And as soon as they returned to the car, the hunt was on.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Some days later, Tae Bunnag, the circus owner, was rudely awakened from his drug-induced sleep by being dumped naked into a full tank. Coughing and hacking up seawater, he banged the top of his head into the lid that sealed off the container. Less than 15 cm (6 inches) of air was left between the top of the water and the cover. As the panicked man thrashed about, splashing water all over the inside of the tank, it took several minutes for the first muted cry of shocked pain to be heard. Another occurred soon after, as the wide-eyed man looked around. The muscle cramps in the arms and legs followed shortly, and then other symptoms would soon start to kick in: the muscle cramps would become excruciating, spreading out to severe pain throughout the back and kidneys. Then there would be a burning sensation in his skin, a spiking headache would join in, then nausea, uncontrolled vomiting and diarrhea would bless him with their presence, finally cumulating in an sharp increase in both his heart rate and blood pressure. So, he had his choice of dieing by water inhalation, cardiac arrest, drowning in his own mess, or plain old suffocation.

In Asami’s office, the trio of men sat back, enjoying a rare afternoon drink together, watching both the Mers deep below them start to relax in their multilevelled aquarium on one bank of monitors, while on a tv that had been brought into the office just for this occasion, they observed the so-called “master”, Aki and Ai’s tormentor from years ago, slowly succumb over half an hour or so, to an agonizing, traumatic death brought about by the tiny, transparent Irikandji jellyfish, no bigger than a cube of sugar, that was all but invisible in the water.


	6. Chapter 6

Aki hadn’t seen That Man again since waking up in that awkward situation, but it didn’t mean the dark haired human was far from his thoughts. The past few days, in fact, the blond had been dreaming about him during his afternoon sleep. Maybe not strictly dreaming about him, per se, more about what he was doing. Unbeknownst to the Mer, Asami had learned that his little soul mate hadn’t transformed into a biped yet, and didn’t know how to walk, so he had stealthily accessed his dreams again, not only to learn little bits and pieces of his boy’s background, but to figure out how to get him used to people. Not the kind of people that poked and probed and demanded things of him (that was Asami’s job, and the boy would find out all about that as time went on), or the kind that treated him as a pet, disposable when he became too much of a problem. He wanted his little mate to be comfortable in both worlds, and that meant slowly acclimatizing him to the possibilities beyond the fishbowl.

The day after the Flying Crab Attack, Akihito had started dreaming about sitting down. Behind some kind of large slabs of wood put together so that the three narrow sides standing up supported a flat slab on top. Now, obviously, Merfolk tails didn’t bend like hips and legs do, because they don’t have the same joints, bones and muscle structure to allow them to. Yet there he was, sitting. With legs. That were clothed. In fact, he was clothed. Looking down the front of himself, he could see he had on a dark outer layer that covered an slightly lighter shaded inner layer, which covered over a white layer with little round knobs on it that seemed attached around the throat by a dangling piece of dark cloth with lines on it. The covered legs looked like they had the same dark material over them too. He kept watching the legs to see if he could see if they ended with fins like him, or those odd flipper-like things like a sea lion. Eventually, whatever he was seated on moved away from the wooden contraption, and he saw that he did, indeed, not have fins. They looked to be in some kind of protective flexible covering, like a soft-shelled crab or some sea turtles he’d heard about. Huh. Weird.

But he soon understood why those coverings made sense. There seemed to be hard pointed corners everywhere at floor level. Or columns that other parts stood on. He could imagine getting a sliver of tail caught under one by mistake and the pain of it tearing as he pulled away. Suddenly, the legs flexed, and his point of view pitched forward. Gods of the Deep, he was going to bash his face in against the wooden top! But even as Aki wanted to throw his hands up to protect himself, those legs pushed the body upwards the same time the spine seemed to pull up and the hips swung forward. And shit on a brick, he was standing! He was standing up! For the first time in his life, he was standing, and fuck was he far up off the ground! How tall WAS this thing?! And now he was moving! This crazy human was leaning forward slightly and swinging one leg out in front, then stopping himself from falling with the forward leg and moving the other one in front of the planted one. Geez, this walking looked more like controlled forward falling than anything else. How the hell did they get anywhere fast on these things… Shit, they were moving right towards a doorway thingy that was closed. They were going to walk right into it nose first…!!

The body stopped short, extended a… (hand), wrapped it around the a large knob sticking out from the… (door), twisted it and pulled it towards him, opening the door. Stepping aside, the door swung past, and he proceeded out into another, larger space. Out of the corner of his eye, Aki could see tall stands of glass with what looked like more glass panels further away and WAS THAT BLUE SKY?? He could see sky out the glass… he’d only ever seen glimpses of blue sky whenever Ai and he were being moved. This was amazing. Going to stand by the tall ...(wall) of glass, Aki looked up at the sky, the puffy white things up there …(clouds), a silver dot up there that left white trails of clouds behind it. Then he looked out across from his (window) and looked at the (building) there, similar upright design, but rather bland looking, and nowhere near as tall. And then he glanced down. OH GODS HE WAS SO HIGH UP!!! How the hell was he so high?! All that kept he from falling was the glass windows, and if they ever gave way it would be worse then if the water leaked out of the tank… Nothing would save him from crashing to his death down below… Gods, he felt dizzy… Without thinking, he leaned forwards and put his hand up against the cool glass…

With a shriek in his head, Aki thrashed his arms around as he fell forward, looking for something sturdy to grab onto as he twisted and spun, only to end up on the sandy floor of the aquarium, tangled in cords of kelp he’d wrapped himself into at bed time. Ai was staring at him, eyes wide with concern as she asked if he was alright. When he started pulling the seaweed off of himself, muttering, she told him to shut up and go back to sleep, it was too early for his crap yet.

Aki settled down after a while, bobbing lightly among the kelp, thinking about what he’d dreamed. It was a mental link, like the dominant male Mer that lived here had started with him, but the person was dressed and moved around like a human. So, his benefactor was either a Mer that lived among Humans, or a hybrid that preferred to stay on land most of the time. Either way, Aki was getting an intro to the Human world, and picking up the language used here at the same time. Huh. Nice. That gave him a sense of security about his “visits” to the Outside, while still being safe in here with Ai. When the other male finally showed up, he’d have to thank him personally for letting him have this experience; no one else had ever even offered something like this to him before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next afternoon, when sleep overtook him, he was hoping that the other Merfolk would establish a link with him again so he could apologize for his panic attack. Soon enough, as he was drifting off in his kelp bed, further away from Ai than the last time so as not to disturb her (he suspected she was disturbed enough, aways…), the male Mer’s voice came floating into his head. Calmly, with just a touch of concern, he asked if the blond was alright, explaining that he hadn’t meant to startle him. Aki blushed at the tone; it sounded so protective, as if the other male felt responsible for him. ‘…And Ai…’, the boy added to himself, not wanting to be rude and make any assumptions about what might be going on here social-wise when the Dominant Mer came back to his home. A soft chuckle wound its way through his head at the thought of Ai, and Aki blushed even deeper after feeling far more of an interest in him then of her. Oh…, uh…

“Did you want to continue seeing what the world outside the tank is like? I promise, I’ll try not to scare you too much today, if you’d like to…’ And boom, any more red and feeling hot, and the boy was sure the water would start to boil around him. Silently joining the mental tendril that beckoned him, he easily slipped into the other male’s head and saw and felt what was around them. They were back in the same room as yesterday, seated behind the wooden planks (desk). They turned around slowly and steadily in the… (chair) they were sitting in, and looking at the glass wall (windows) behind and to either side of them. Aki gasped that they were so close to such dangers, but the calmness of the mind enfolding him soothed his feelings until he found them standing up, almost against one window pane, looking out and up, around at the other tall buildings that he could see. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of tall ocean canyon walls deep enough that the light faded part way down them, then compared it to the city streets below. The images the Mer showed him did look similar, so when the view tipped forward to see far below them, the (street) didn’t seem quite as scary. There were things moving down there, blocky, rectangular things that stopped and started and traveled in two different directions, like schools of fish moving in different currents. Both streams periodically stopped, and two blobs of what looked like tiny shrimps or krill pooled out into an opening between the stopped schools and seemed to move to the opposite direction of where they were, then those stopped, and the schools of (vehicles) (cars) started up on their way again.

‘Each one of the “krill” is a (person), an individual human, making their way across the (flow of traffic) (on the street) where the cars were stopped to let them pass. Distance makes things seem smaller, remember.’ Akihito gasped. ‘Those were normal sized (people)? They looked so tiny…’ Warmth, kind of like seeing a familiar smile, suffused him. ‘So the distance from here down there means we’re really high up then”, the blond hummed, then asked if he could try something. He had his companion place their head flat to the glass, then turned first to the far left, and then slowly rotated it to the far right, looking down at the street below the whole time. ‘Cool!’

That warm chuckle sounded again, this time mixed with a smidge of fondness and a tinge of pride at him getting over his scare from yesterday so quickly. “Do you want to go around the (building) inside tomorrow, then next day see what (this building) (Sion) (headquarters) looks like from the outside?' Excitement bubbled up inside the boy. ‘That... would be awesome.’ More warm chuckles caressed him. 'Then sleep well now, Akihito, and I will see you tomorrow.’ With that promise made, Aki withdrew from the link and fell into a comfortable sleep with no further dreams.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next day found him tired after exploring their new aquarium further and discovering a large opening that curved as it led downward. He could sense other fish and animals living down there, and wanted to go see what it was like, but hesitated as it wasn’t his place and the big male might not like having others there. He’d wait and ask permission first. Better safe than sorry. The temptation to just take a peek was killing him, and he was far more awake than sleepy when he retired for the afternoon. It took longer than usual for him to drift off, and the next thing he knew, he was upright in the (office), striding towards the open door. Stepping through the doorway, they stopped momentarily to lean into another doorway to say something to the surprised man with the (glasses) on his face that he had seen before, when Ai had decided to misbehave with their caregivers. The other man (Kirishima) had just opened his mouth to reply when they’d quickly pulled back and headed down the hallway. Stopping in front of two doorways that looked like they overlapped and folded away into the wall, Aki listened as it was explained that this was one of many (elevators) that were like small rooms that moved up and down inside this building. It was how large items and numbers (schools) of people could move around such a large volume of space efficiently (an image of their aquarium tilted up of its side, rocks and reef walls becoming the floors on different levels throughout).

Speaking of… ’Um, I came across this opening down to another level below where Ai and I are staying, and uh, would it be alright if I went down there; you know, explored a bit?’ A bit of surprise flickered, then a reassuring wave flooded him. ‘Of course, Akihito, that’s your home too now. Look around wherever you like. There’s a third level below that one, and there are tunnels in the wall straight up and down if you need quick access to any of the three levels you want. I’ll be there in a few days to welcome you both and introduce myself. We can go down there to the third level together, if you like. Meanwhile…’ The doors had slid back, and they stepped into the tiny room (elevator) and the hand rose to touch a button on the wall near the doors that lit up, and the doors slid closed. Aki looked around the room, thinking about a dozen or so people could fit in here comfortably; an inexplicable image of a thin rectangular metal container with the top partially peeled back and a bunch of small dead oily baitfish packed tight inside invaded his thoughts, making him grimace.

The room moved downwards, and Aki had a moment where he felt like his stomach was being left behind somewhere, before the presence with him steadied him, and the moment was over. Rather quickly there was a musical tone as the elevator stopped, and the doors slid back. Stepping out, a pair of male humans silently took up positions behind them and flanked them from that point on. Aki forgot about them as they walked over to an opening in the centre of the level they were on, up to a partial wall that came to just about waist high on them and looked over. The blond gasped as looking down, every fifth level (floor) there was an open area like this all the way down to (ground level). The floors in between were glass walls, allowing natural light to come down from the (roof) throughout the middle of the building, all the way down to the (grand atrium) below. The awe this sight inspired in the boy gave the other Mer a true sense of pride, being able to show his soul mate what he had been able to create from the ground up.

Going back to the elevator, they all went in and pushed another button that lit up and they were headed down again, the space now a little more cramped with the other pair of humans accompanying them. The word “cafeteria” floated into his mind as the doors opened and they walked onto a floor that was open in the centre again, but had several (kitchen) areas open to order different types of food or drinks from, or bring (bento lunches) food from home for a midday meal. On the far side of the floor was a floor to ceiling columnar aquarium where large colourfully patterned discus fish swam among aquatic plants, and people could quietly read, sit in groups and talk, look at their (phones) (tablets), or stroll amid raised moss and fern gardens and potted bamboo. What struck the boy as kinda funny was that the humans in their glass walled-in environment looked to be in a tank of their own as much as the fish did. And that warm flow of amusement meant that the male he was sharing this with must think so, too.

One more return trip to the elevator, and they reached the final floor that the elevator travelled to. Stepping out of the doors brought the small group into the a stream of human walking briskly along both sides of the large hallway, most staying their courses and continuing on their way along the wall to wherever they were headed, but some peeling off with practiced ease to insert themselves into a flow of people going down or coming up a bank of moving stairs (escalators). These escalators looked scary, moving down with speed and the small ledges that the humans stood precariously on seemed to disappear into the floor at top level, regardless of whether or not there were body parts still on them or not. That made Aki flinch back, not trusting anything like that wouldn’t hurt like hell if a part of his tail got caught in them.

‘Remember, Akihito, if you were to use one, you wouldn’t be standing on your tail. Watch the people getting off at the top here: they step off the escalator onto the floor as the ledge disappears. Nothing gets pulled into it as long as there’s nothing left dangling unattended or small enough to drop between the sides by accident. They are perfectly safe to use; we can try it later. For now, let’s stand near the (balcony) and watch for a little while, shall we?’ His guide stepped into the stream of people who moved around and away from them like he was a predator passing through a shoal of fish. Everyone seemed respectful, but wary.

‘Being the biggest fish doesn’t hurt.’ Aki winced in embarrassment. He hadn’t meant for that to be overheard. And there was that chuckle again. ‘Rather difficult not to hear when we’re connected. But seriously, never be shy or embarrassed to share or ask me anything. If I can give you my attention, I will, gladly. If I can’t for some reason, I’ll let you know, and then get back to you as soon as I can.’ That mollified the boy somewhat, and he was soon gasping at how high up the balcony was from the main floor of the building. They were standing near the (railing), able to see the people moving up and down the escalators and walking about down below. At first, the escalators still made the blond nervous, but he soon became rather blasé as the people using them seemed to so without a thought.

Before he knew it, they were standing at the top of the escalator, ready to move onto them. Aki gasped again at the suddenly steep looking angle, then they were on it, gliding downwards with one hand casually holding the (handrail). Getting near the bottom made him a bit anxious as the spot where the escalator step seemed to go under the floor drew closer, but once more his companion looked after them, and with a step forward they were on the level floor of the (main lobby). To their left was the (atrium) and the doors Outside, to their right was the (reception area and front line security desk) for Sion, beyond that on the opposite wall was a long bank of elevators to carry the workers up to the various floors of the building.

‘Ready?’ his guide asked as they turned and headed towards the doors, the guards on either side of them becoming very alert as they saw who was approaching. One of them swung the door in front of them open as the others bowed, and they exited the building. Outside. He was Outside. Without a tank. Without the cocoon of glass or water. If Aki had a face and mouth of his own right then, it would have been gaping. He couldn’t believe it. Never would he have thought that he could be out here, standing, in the Human world.

‘Was that enough excitement for today?’ the voice asked teasingly. ‘I think you should go now and get some sleep.’ Aki was torn between feeling grateful for what his guide had done for him today, preparing him when needed, and looking out for him every step of the way, and now wanting to go further. ‘It was my pleasure, Akihito. Tomorrow I won’t be able to visit with you during your regular sleep time as I have someone from far away that I have to deal with, but later, I will take you for that walk around to let you get familiar with the area outside of Sion. Sleep well, my Akihito’.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aki had spent all last night exploring the second level, the lower light level was noticeable, but not troubling him at all. The fish and creatures down there weren't the same ones that were on the first level, not all colourful and flashy. The ones with colours down here had them for a reason: as a warning to stay away. His eight-legged buddy stuck with him when he moved out, and when it started to tire, it situated itself on Aki's shoulder until they returned to the surface level to get some food. And waiting for him was some salmon roll! Oh, how he loved this tasty treat. The flavours and textures! He could kiss whoever sent this down for him... He offered a piece of salmon to the octopus, which turned up its non-existent nose at it. It did, however, accept a shrimp that Aki “presented” it, (actually, it sorted through the container of them and selected which one it wanted, leaving the remainder for him). He then brought the rest of the meal to where Ai was so they could share the meal, as she and their caretakers avoided each other, by preference and mutual silent agreement. Afterwards, they both retired to sleep.

Today, though, he tossed and turned during his bedtime, excited and nervous a little bit, looking forward to seeing what his guide would show him. He liked the feeling of someone taking an interest in him and wanting to show him something of the world. He didn't even want to think like this, really, but secretly? It felt nice to have someone who was interested in him alone, rather than see him as a gateway to Ai. Because woe unto those who had tried to use Akihito as a way to get closer to the attractive, fiery Mer. She wasn't above punishing those that made her boy feel bad and/or pissed her off; which, by the way, hurting HER Silver Tail in any way was a surefire way of doing it.

Unable to rest, he tried reaching out to the Dominant Male. He told himself that the Mer had said to reach out whenever he wanted to, so, he thought he'd give it a go. Stilling his mind, Aki reached out for the comfortable presence of his companion/guide. As he felt a response, he was surprised (and stunned!) by the sudden overwhelming PRESENCE absolutely swarming into his mind. Alert, concerned, demanding assurances that he was unharmed, safe and protected, and almost aggressively seeking out any suspicion of a threat in his vicinity. Akihito was totally floored. Even Ai had never been this ferocious about his well being.

Finally snapping out of it, the blond hastily spoke up, assuring his companion that all was well; that he, in fact, just couldn't get to sleep and, not wanting to bring down Ai's wrath upon himself by waking her up, had just sought out someone to talk with. The cold, roiling emotions subsided, being replaced by a blooming feeling of surprised pleasure, pleased at being sought out to help alleviate even a minor nuisance for the boy. The males chatted some, helping the blond to quiet himself and lull him into a sense of quiet well-being. Soon enough, he started to feel dozey and yawned tiredly. With a feeling of warm fondness, his companion wished him a restful slumber, and promised to reach out to him soon, after he woke up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Later on, once the boy got five solid hours of sleep in, he started to tingle with expectation once he felt the bigger male reach out to contact him. Without a second's hesitation, he joined his guide in an elevator going down to the building lobby. Seeing a small cadre of men accompanying them, Aki wondered if they were a group of young males in a bachelor group, like some Dolphins he'd heard of once. Asami's dark humour secretly appreciated the comparison, privately imagining his security team as both defenders, warding off threatening sharks and their attendant scavengers, and as harriers, enforcing their leader's word as law. He told his little soulmate that they were more like a pod of orcas, both protectors and attackers as the situation demanded. They were also there to provide them anything that was needed or desired.

Accepting this with only half his attention, Akihito tried to peer ahead through the opening elevator doors with growing anticipation. Once again, as they and their entourage walked through the lobby, the swarm of employees encompassed the group while still maintaining a distance as they passed around them. Next thing the blond knew, they had drawing up to the doors held open for them all to walk through, and then once again, Aki was in the outside world.

Standing on the front steps of Sion, Akihito took a good look around as the men with them loosely formed up so as not to stand out from the crowd too much, and waited for their boss to head out. And then they were off, blending into the (late afternoon) army of humans leaving (work) (their employment) for the day. Aki was glad he was within his guide as this migration swept the troupe up and carried them down the block past Sion. As they approached the end of the (sidewalk), he warily watched the cars go by in droves, seeing how large and fast they were up close at street level. At the (corner), the group peeled off from the main flow of (pedestrians) and turned down to continue along the side of their building. Now that they were on a quieter side street, Aki took the chance to keep glancing up at the building, noting smaller entryways that could access Sion out of sight of the main street. Tucking away that and other bits of information that his companion pointed out to him, Aki and company felt sure that he could identify which building was Sion if he was outside on his own (WHAT?!? Where the [fiery fuck] did that even come from?!) (Ooh! New swears? Awesome!) That deep chuckle made him forget everything in a flush of shyness, which was confusing, ‘cus he sure wasn’t shy…). Coming to a corner again, they all turned and went along the back where the ramp down to the (underground parking) was and another, larger staff entrance. Again, Aki memorized the building and more of those around it, anchoring it in his mind. Then one last turn at the next corner, and they were heading back towards the front (face) of the building again.

As the group came back to the sidewalk in front of Sion once more, Asami spoke to one of the men with them, and they headed towards a nondescript side door at the side of the building that looked like a basic (utility room door). As the guard used his card to open the door and held it aside for them to enter, Aki saw a set of escalators. Heading upstairs, Aki was a bit nervous stepping on, but once there, he was fine and handled getting off at the top like a pro, Instead of stopping at the top, most of the group bowed respectfully and turned into the main building itself. Aki and his guide, with the usual pair of tag-alongs, turned to the right and went through the doors to a glassed in area somewhere on a roof above the crowd (outdoors). With the street noise outside a muted background noise, Aki could hear the sounds of a small stream within an area of potted Japanese maples and other small trees that his guide assured him flowered throughout the Spring. Paper lanterns would light the path that looped around the space in the evening, allowing a break for workers in the building, a chance to get out and relax among the trees, enjoy a smoke or make calls.

The sound of the water is what drew Aki over, and he was delighted to see a babbling (brook) that trickled down a rock and gravel (bed) to a small hidden pond with Koi fish swimming among the lily pads and water hyacinth. They lingered on one of the benches in the clearing, chatting some, at other times just enjoying the ambiance together. Finally standing up, his companion regretfully headed for the door back into Sion proper, saying he still had a few things to do today before he would be free again. Taking that as a hint that he needed to leave now, the blond exuberantly thanked his guide while he made ready to disengage. As they approached the doors, Aki saw that they were (mirrored), showing a reflection of whomever was coming up to them. Thinking he would be a little bit sneaky, he watched the doors get closer as his companion was making his goodbye, wanting to catch a glimpse of what the Dominant Male looked like before their actual introductions. As they stood in front of the doors, Aki gaped in shock at the reflection: it was That Man, giving him an amused smirk as he promised they’d meet properly this evening. (Holy Shit!)

Discus Fish 


	7. Chapter 7

If Aki had legs, he’d be wearing a path in the sandy bottom of the aquarium. He’d be fidgeting and pacing back and forth, a bundle of nervous energy. And if Ai had feet, she’d be tapping one in annoyance, watching him. Ever since they’d woken up, he was a babbling wreck. One minute he’d be trying to spruce up the coral on their walls, the next minute, he was trying to rearrange the starfish into more pleasing arrangements. What was wrong with him!? The next time he was hurrying about with an armload of colourful seashells, his blue-ringed octopus wrapped around his upper arm like some exotic armband, clinging for dear life, she waited until he almost ran into her before she grabbed both his arms and shook him enough that he dropped his load. ‘What the hell is going on with you!’ she groused through their mental link, her tank-mate slowly fraying her nerves.

‘He’s coming! Tonight! He said he’s coming home tonight, and he’d introduce himself. Oh shit! What am I gonna do?’

‘I’ll tell you what your gonna do, Aki: your going to get a grip, breathe, and stopping acting like some hysterical l’il shit before I smack some sense into you, got me?!’, she threatened with a scowl. Wide eyes stared at her for a moment before he swallowed, then nodded. She slowly dropped her arms away as if expecting him to lose it any second and speed away sobbing to the other end of their level. But, she had to be firm. She was the only diva allowed in their tank, after all. But he seemed to pull it together and calmed down, so there was that at least. After a couple of deep breaths, he started at the beginning, from after Ai had dismissed the mental link with the other male as beneath her. He told her about talking with him, his showing Aki around the hiding they were in, and then slowly introducing him to the Outside, and finally about him realizing who the Big Male was.

‘And I mean BIG! Like tall! Broad across the chest too, but really tall! It’s so weird… I mean standing up, looking down at the floor, and it’s so. far. away. How does the blood get from his feet all the way to his head? Gods, it must take forever…’ Ai rubbed a palm over her forehead and silently counted to 10 starfish as she tried stay calm.

‘Aki, you’re nervous because a strange Dominant Male is coming back here, to his tank, in a while? I’ve seen you take on jerks twice your size; why are you freaking out over some guy who’s being incredibly friendly with you?’  
‘Because he IS being unBELIEVably nice to me. High tides, EVERYONE wants to get with you! You got looks, you’re strong, you’ll have power and status once we get to the ocean and set up shop, who doesn’t want to get with that? And what have I got? Pretty colours? Whoop-dee fuck! You know everybody crawls over me to get to you.’

‘And what if it turns out he is into you? You’re easygoing, loyal as a rock, fearless to a fault, sometimes a bit emo, but stubborn and honest as fuck. What more could a half decent merfolk want in a soulmate?’

‘Soulmate? The hell’s that now?!’

‘Oh geez,’ she sighed, face palming herself. ‘Don’t tell I gotta give you The Talk too.’

Her boy instantly turned pink from the neck up. ‘Shut up! Gods, no, you don’t. Knowing your kind, it would all be about how you single out your males, trick ‘em into following you, then trap ‘em, have your way with them and exhaust them ‘til they’re weak and helpless; then eat ‘em. Alive.’ The female tapped a finger on her lips as she got a thoughtful, faraway look in her eyes… ‘Fuck, no thanks, Ai. Forget it.’

‘And just what were you going to do with those shells, my dear Aki.’

His ears got a little bit more pink. ‘Uh…, I thought, maybe… decorate the sleeping area a little? Make it look nicer, more homey; shit, I don’t know…’

‘Mm-hm. Make it more inviting, show off your treasures a little, make it so a nice big Dominant Male might want to stop in and stay awhile…?’ She took one look at Aki’s horrified/surprised/omgisTHATwhatIwasdoing face and giggled. What a sweet, sweet boy she had. Time to mess with him. ‘Now, if that’s what you’re working at, we’ll need to get you another sleeping chamber then. It’s comfortable enough for me and you here now, but if we start adding other bodies, well…’ Big eyes stared at her as if transfixed in terror. ‘I mean, extra arms and other body parts flailing around, it may get crowded, if not a little, um, hazardous.’ His mouth slowly dropped open. Time to close in for the kill. ‘Besides, you’re noisy enough in your sleep just when you’re dreaming. Imagine if you and him started…’  
Aki fled the area, blood pressure dangerously close to nose bleed threshold, shrilly keening a trail of bubbles behind him like a drowning banshee, his fingers clutched and pulling his hair. Ai chuckled, satisfied with her work, and started going through the abandoned shells, selecting which ones she wanted, then delineated Aki and her sleeping areas through the different colours and types of shells left displayed singly or in piles along the walls.

 

As nighttime fell, Ai finally coaxed the blond boy out of hiding to wait with her among the coral mounds and flat-topped rocks near the landing. It was almost time for another meal, and even though Ai disliked being anywhere in the vicinity of wherever humans were, she wanted to get some food into her boy. She’d never seen him so upset he couldn’t eat, and if chewing on something tasty took his mind off the big male coming here soon, she’d allow the caretakers to deliver their meal unmolested. Not that she trusted any human as far as she could rip off their head and throw it, so she stayed between the edge of the landing and her Aki, well out of reach, just in case.

Soon enough, the elevator car arrived, and the door slid open. Out came a trio of workers, two carrying ice-filled trays of food containers while the third set down a long, low, narrow table, maybe 15 centimetres (6 inches) off the sand, alongside the broad steps that lead into the water. Overseeing the food layout from beside the elevator was a familiar tall, dark, broad figure that made Akihito shiver with goosebumps in the warm water, just from laying eyes on it. This time, instead of pants and a suit, the male was covered in a short beach robe tied off-centre. The loose cotton robe did nothing to conceal the broad, strong shoulders, and the short arms that stopped below the man’s shoulder showed off the well-defined musculature whenever they shifted. The bottom hem barely made it to mid thigh, and Akihito swore he’d never seen any man’s legs look as well-built as these ones. At the end of those powerful appendages the boy finally saw his feet, barely covered by beach sandals. There was nothing out of proportion or displeasing to the eye that Aki could detect with his quick glimpses through the cracks between his fingers as his hands tried to contain the red glow coming off his face.

Ai, being made of sterner stuff than the weaker male gender in her opinion, appraised the stranger as a possible threat to herself or her Aki (unlikely, as he couldn’t help but keep looking in the boy’s direction either), a neutral or an independent ally to live along side, or as a future beneficial member of her court if he chose to join her fledgling colony to be with her boy. Finally, after comparing this fine specimen with other males she had come across in her involuntary travels, both merfolk and human in slight deference to this one’s hybrid breeding, she decided she could do much worse than to at least ally herself with him, if only to protect Aki, and thus, herself. Besides, anyone coming to her colony and court would be impressed with this one, even if he didn’t end up having fins or a tail worth mentioning. A definite status symbol and a half, this one.

Making up her mind to be friendly enough to try to lure this male to join her colony then, she somewhat patiently waited until the workers finished whatever monkey work they were up to before watching them lineup in front of the male, bow, and be excused. So, he had a high standing among the humans too. Better and better. For her status, that is.

One of the men returned from the elevator with two boxes, and set them by the table; then, once more, after bowing to the male, he returned to the elevator and the door slid closed. The man and female Mer eyed each other for a moment, then both started towards the steps at the same time, after Ai gave Aki an impatient little splash of water to the face with the tip of her tail to snap him out of whatever zone he was in. The two groups reached the steps about the same time, the male stepped down from the landing to seat himself in the water on the top step. Ai drifted up to the steps and pulled herself onto her folded arms to have her head out of the water.

As he was the resident there, and obviously the one and only Dominant in his aquarium, Asami sent out a mental link to both merfolk, inviting them to commune with him. Ai accepted the offer and joined with his mind readily enough, the blond shyly followed suit moments later. ‘I am Asami Ryuichi, heir of the Asami line, leader of the Asami Clan and head of Sion International Business Conglomerate. My mother is one of the Merfolk, as was my father’s grandmother and her mother’s grandfather before them. I was at the warehouse when you both were found and rescued, and I made sure you were both cared for properly before bringing you both here as my guests. Welcome to my home, for however long either of you wish.’ His audience took a civilized moment to appear to digest this greeting before regally nodding her head. Aki bobbed quietly in the water by her side, just drinking in the other other male’s face. That familiar voice in his mind was making him feel relaxed after so much stress earlier, and the way those golden eyes briefly connected with Ai’s as he spoke, but then sought his out over and over made him feel… special. And Aki found himself captivated with those clever lips on the man before them, finding himself wanting to touch them.

That thought, it seemed, judging by the way Ai covered her face with her hand and those eyes above him sparkled, had leaked out into their joined thought stream. The feeling of creeping horror was back as he realized how much of an ass he’d made of himself at their first meeting, and if Asami hadn’t deftly handed Ai a food container to shove into the blond’s trembling hand with a few soothing words, the boy would have scoured the bottom of the tank for the largest shell he could find, and, after he’d evicted the resident hermit crab and shoved himself in it head first as far as he could get, would have sworn never to emerge from it again.

But now, he had food in hand… Blinking first at the container, then at Ai, then daring to look up at the man who was handing another one to the mermaid, he met a gently amused look on the man’s face. Slowly cooling down to an endearing pinkish hue, Aki looked down at his food, and started poking around the portion of seaweed mixed with human food bits and pieces. Akihito watched as Ai asked questions about the dish and Asami explained what it was and what all was included in the seaweed salad. Ai declined the offered fork, preferring to use her fingers, while the blond wordlessly accepted the implement with a nod. Carefully poking the food with the fork as he watched their host chat with an amazingly well behaved Ai, he adjusted the amount he stuck on his fork when he saw the man take a smaller bite than the boy normally would, and carefully tasted the salad.

Flavours exploded in his mouth. This was amazing! The familiar taste of the seaweed blended with the exotic human ingredients caused the boy to start shovelling in mouthfuls, not wanting the experience to end. When he finished well before the others had, he first felt disappointed, then foolish. Couldn’t he do anything right tonight? Why was he acting like such an idiot?! Before he could start berating himself too much, another partially full container was offered to him. As Ai snickered, Aki followed the large hand holding the container with his eyes, up the big arm to the indulgent smile on Asami’s face as he offered the remainder of his own salad. Even as the blond vigorously shook his head in denial, Asami insistently offered his salad, and it was up to Ai to graciously thank the man as she accepted the food, took a reasonable amount in her graceful fingers, and shoved it into her startled boy’s mouth. Once he started chewing, the battle was over, and Asami was left to rather valiantly try not to laugh.

Tasting courses of sushi and sashimi went down smoothly. Ceviche took a little convincing, as the pair had had to choke down (poorly) cooked fish in the past from ignorant owners to survive, but after they tentatively tasted the tender fish “baked” by lime juice acid, it fast became a favourite. The last dish was, of course, salmon roll. Akihito was presented with two helpings of his own. Dessert was a shaved iced concoction made with a squid ink syrup. Aki, lured out of his shell by all the good food, finally cracked at Ai’s black tongue. She rudely pointed out his own problem, and they proceeded to make faces at each other, sticking their tongues out, until they both ended up in a snorting giggle fit. Finally sobering, they remembered their host was still present and turned back to him, somewhat embarrassed. He regarded them both with a cool demeanour until he crooked an eyebrow, stuck his own black tongue out at them, and wiggled it. The younger pair completely lost it.

When the boy finally wound down to spastic twitches and gasps, his octo-buddy took the chance to jump ship and poke around for some nibbles of its own. Asami’s eye lit up when he saw the ‘pus sliding over the step, picked up a hidden container on his tray, and offered the little fella some live baby oysters that had the shell muscle cut and scraped off so the octopus could feast on the tender meat within without difficulty. When it was finished, it glided over to Asami’s offered hand and snuggled into his palm, seemingly comfy and quite pleased with itself. Asami glanced up at the boy with a lopsided grin and gave him a wink; and Aki, finally reassured by the tiny tentacled terror’s seal of approval, grinned back at the man and reclined between Ai and Asami on the steps.

 

Later, after lounging in the warm water and carrying on an easy conversation with the two males, Ai cited a full tummy and a tiring pain in the ass of a blond for wearing her out, and decided she needed to retire for a nap. Aki seemed reluctant to part ways with Asami right now, so, as she was setting up her exit strategy, the  
dark haired man put his own plan in motion. Reaching back by the end of the table, he retrieved the larger of the pair of boxes, and resettled himself on the step, ignoring the pull of the water to change for now. ‘This is a welcome gift for you, Ai, not only to help you feel more comfortable and at home here, but to enhance yourself for when you decide to entertain guests of your own. Please enjoy my gift to you.’ Ai’s colours brightened in interest as she accepted the gift with both hands, nodding her head and plainly pleased with the surprise. Opening the box and carefully unwinding the protective paper within, Ai gasped when she uncovered what was waiting for her within: a winged mirror and matching comb set to allow her to care for her mass of hair as she checked her reflection head on and from either side. Alongside those items were about a dozen smaller hair combs and hair pins made of gold with small shells, starfish and other types of sea life fashioned of pastel hued semiprecious stones dangling from them. Ai was quiet, moved by important gift. This was her first true treasure, exotic and meant to decorate her tresses and heighten her status, not just to use as a child’s toy for pretend. Quietly, she bowed her head and sincerely thanked Asami for his interest in and care of them both, and his thoughtfulness in his choice of gift.

Now, it was Akihito’s turn. Basically murmuring in the boy’s mind how he hoped he would feel like this was his home as long as he wanted to be here, Asami handed over the smaller box and sat back, quietly nervous as he hoped the gift would suit the boy’s taste.

As the blond accepted Asami’s welcome gift, he twitched when the big male’s fingers brushed the back of his hand. It felt like the tiny prickles of brushing through a carpet of sea anemone tentacles. As much as he enjoyed the sensation, he should open his gift to share it with Ai and thank his new friend. Lifting the lid from the box, he was overcome and had to bring a hand up to his mouth to keep any untoward noise from escaping. Back under control, Aki’s fingers gently touched the twisted rope-like golden torque meant to rest against his neck, the black onyx caps on the open ends would nestle above his clavicle when worn. Aki looked up at Asami, still unable to speak, the emotions in his eyes revealing what was in his heart. Asami gave him a soft smile as his finger gently skimmed his boy’s jaw. Then, standing up, he removed the boxes and their wrappings from the water, then stepped out of his sandals and started to undo his belt. This was all too much for Aki to handle right then, and the blond partially turned away as the robe was tossed over a nearby rock, his blush threatened to rush back to his cheeks at dizzying speed. Catching the teasing twitch of Ai’s lips, Aki pouted and turned back about just in time to catch Asami descend into the water in his full, naked, glory. His brain function seized up, as if rusted solid by the salt water. He was still staring at him, gaping, as the man grinned wickedly at his little soulmate, and spared him any further brain damage by plunging out of sight beneath the water surface. As his synapses rebooted, Aki shook himself, unable to believe what he had just seen. He wasn’t given a whole lot of time to process, though, as strong arms surrounded him, and big hands took the torque out of his grasp, and gently placed it around the back of the boy’s neck, and adjusted it forward to rest comfortably against his pale skin. Then, he felt the man’s nose in his hair, easily nuzzling the top of his head, just imagining what that shape behind him must look like. O. M. G. And… bam. His brain. seized up. again.

And for Asami, we were thinking these fins and tail...

 

... with these colours:


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

Akihito finally blinked himself back into consciousness after a few minutes. To find himself being supported by a pair of big, strong hands on either side of his waist and his back barely resting against a broad chest. If his head had been out of the water, he was pretty sure the sparking between his ears would have caught something on fire. Fortunately for him, Ai and R… Asami were busy trying to charm the tails off each other. Which was fine by him, ‘cuz he needed all the time he could get just to remember how to breathe.

Once he’d remastered that basic skill, he decided to check out the conversation happening around him… or, not happening around him, as Ai had a dainty hand partly hiding her mouth while her eyes danced like when she was teasing him, and the male behind him… Oh, gods of the Deep, he didn’t even want to imagine what he was up to right now...

That, and most any other thought he had were wiped away as those steadying hand slowly slid down from his waist to his hips where the scales started to form. And it wasn’t just that he was sensitive and very ticklish that made him squirm, either. Those hands made him feel, dammit. Right where he’d have legs, if he could change. Ugh, this was frustrating, and mortifying, and outrageous, and – WHY THE HELL WAS HIS ASS RUBBING UP AGAINST THOSE FIRM ABS BEHIND HIM?!?

With a whip of his tail he was away from both Asami and Ai, not trusting either himself or the big male just now, and sure as shit not trusting Ai not to tickle him into submission then serve him up to Asami as an after dinner treat for some new baubles. N’uh-uh, l’il Aki weren’t having none of that.

When Ai mentioned in general conversation that Asami had said he was willing to take the blond on a guided tour of the third level of the aquarium, the boy’s eyes just about bugged out of his head. Alone? Down there?! In the dark?!? With HIM!?! Red flags were waving and warning bells were going off in his head, and he was just about to refuse when his mouth betrayed him with a “Cool. Wanna go?” What was happening here? Did the big Asami male thingie have mind control powers or something? He was just shaking the image of the “big Asami male thingie” from earlier out of his head when he heard himself ask Ai “ You coming too?”, and hearing her politely decline, citing a full tummy. Full tummy, his Uncle Finn! For such a teeny tiny thing, she could pack away more than he could when she felt like it. Screw that, she could probably pack HIM away, if he was honest… Which is about when he realized that both Mers were staring at him, and that those thoughts had leaked through into their shared link, and omg was he embarrassed.

Ai had just sniffed and started to turn away when Asami diverted her attention as he threw Aki a line. “By the way, Miss Ai, (oh, clever man, address her with a title and she’d crumble like dead coral in a storm surge), I hope you don’t mind, but I had asked my second in command to clear away the meal and table for me while I was visiting. He’ll be careful not to disturb you, and he is extremely trustworthy, so you won’t have anything to fear.” (A mental image of Kirishima Kei formed in their heads, all serious business, occasionally relaxed, rarely smiling. Asami vouched for this man, so, really, there wasn’t anything to worry about. Except maybe finding his body parts scattered among the various reefs, with his glasses shoved up his a…)

“-kihito, shall we?”, Asami asked, offering a hand. Without thinking twice, the blond boy took it, and off they swam. Ai watched them out of sight amidst the rocks and coral walls, then headed over to the table again. Spotting the oily, headless little fish that were a little too strongly flavoured for her taste, she snagged the container, fumbled until she figured out how to affix the lid, then went to find the perfect hiding spot within range.

Meanwhile, the male Mers were swimming through the second level, Asami somewhat below and slightly ahead of the blond, pointing out things he had missed his first swim through. The colourful swarms of fish, the different fan corals, and Asami showed him the the two shafts from the top level, letting light and water circulate more freely around, and allowing direct access to all levels. Aki was more interested in watching the flow of muscles down that back and through the tail. And those fins and that tail… Hair matched the scales all the way down his tail: long, sinuous and black as the ace of spades. The spines and blades at the ends of the tail turned into a golden hue, matching those sharp eyes. If they were anything like coral, they’d look deceptively soft and rounded, yet be as hard as rock, sharp as a knife, and loaded with hidden toxins to boot. And no doubt, a Dominant like him would have actual blades hidden within the folds of his arm fins for attack as well as defence. All that muscle wasn’t just for display – although it all looked pretty damn fine to him. And that tilt to the male’s head as he smirked and gave his ass muscles a little wiggle let Aki know that HE knew. Just awesome. Let the blushing resume. A couple of streamline shapes went past them up the nearest shaft, startling the blond for a second before he recognized what they were on their return trip down. Porpoises! About his size, likely tank bred, like him, and probably with tons of excessive energy. Cool. He’d meet them down below and see if any of them wanted to play. He caught an indulgent little smile as Asami turned back to look where he was swimming, leaving Aki to wonder what that was all about.

 

* * *

 

She was a brat. A childish, annoying, obnoxious, infuriating, dangerous, mysterious, beautiful and, as far as he was concerned, completely irresistible brat. And Kirishima just couldn't stay away any more.

He’d found himself thinking of her at night when he should have been sleeping, and when he did fell asleep, it was her beautiful face and her graceful form that appeared in his dreams. He caught himself sometimes wondering how she would look with human legs, but he preferred her the way she was. He would be embarrassed to have to admit how he’d get aroused just thinking about such a creature, but that’s what was happening. He’d also catch himself daydreaming (!) at work, sometimes about the girl, sometimes with how he got mixed up in the world of Mers.

 

_The skinny, nerdy-looking kid stood tall and serious-looking, bothered by the heavy hotness of the humid air, his pale skin burning under the merciless sun. The luxurious manor house could be seen up the hill, at the end of the drive, the Asami’s summer home. Which was a fucking castle, if you asked him. Kei could imagine the great hall, the beautiful ballroom, the high ceiling, the huge double staircase, the silverware, the finest vinegars that money could get. He couldn’t really get the excitement of his father in finally getting invited to go to this place in person._

_He had heard from the earliest age how his paternal ancestors were somehow tied to the powerful family. His mother liked to tell all her friends that yes, they they were distant relatives, but relatives all the same. Little Kei wasn’t really interested until that very moment - he wasn't about to trust his future in other people's connections, and he knew if he wanted a good career someday, he would have to struggle for it by himself. Thus, the eleven years old boy could already speak three languages. Little Kirishima Kei wasn't any ordinary kid._

_He was good at obeying orders… sometimes. His parents had told him to wait "a little bit" in the car, and after finishing all the crosswords and sudoku games he had with him, he decided he wasn't gonna die from boredom in there anymore. Chances were pretty good, however, that he’d die from dehydration before they got back, so after getting a drink of water from a garden hose, he spied a trail to the beach. Considering all the angles of staying at the car vs. exploring the shoreline, he shrugged, and made his way down there. Once he hit the sandy gravel, he moved towards some rocks that acted as a breakwater and wandered around and through them, down into a protected spot with some tidal pools._

_He’d grown up in the big city and had seen the sea when he was younger, but this was a rare opportunity, and he was eager to explore everything that was within his reach. Not the ocean though. The ocean was huge and scary... and he couldn't swim for shit._

_The tide pools were full of strange, colourful creatures: starfish, sea urchins, crabs, anemones, and others things that the city boy couldn't name... yet. He glanced up towards the manor house, then focuses rack on what was in the water. He’d better start studying marine stuff if he wanted to work for the Asamis one day. There was a rumour that the family was deeply linked to a similar Merfolk noble family, and it was quite obvious they owned a huge part of marine bushinesses in Japan and across Asian in general._

_Kei adjusted his glasses and crouched down to pick up a beautiful shell, absorbed in its detailed pattern and textures, then peered inside it to see if there was anything still alive in there. He had his back to the sea and didn't notice some larger waves coming in until the water hit his butt violently and he lost his balance. His foot slipped on an algae-covered rock and he fell forward into the pool. For an instant, everything went black. His forehead was bleeding and the left lens of his glasses was cracked. Getting hold of the rocky border of the pool, he managed to climb out without swallowing half the water in there._

_He groaned and tried to toss his longish hair out of his eyes just as another wave hit him harder and dragged him bodily headfirst into the sea. He felt the sand and broken shells scratch his arms and thought it was lucky that he was not shirtless. When really, he mighta wanted to be afraid of drowning, instead. He couldn't tell the bottom from the surface, he was roiling around in a mess of greenish water and air bubbles; the world was spinning so fast he felt like a rag doll in a washing machine, and the last thing he thought was "Well fuck, now I’ll need new glasses"._

_... He gained consciousness, gradually. The first thing he noticed was the cold, wet, pebbly sand beneath his body. Oh. Yeah, the beach. The stupid accident, and the loss of his glasses. He felt so ridiculous now. He groaned softly and took a deep breath, hoping at least he hadn’t broken anything. His ribs hurt like a sonovabitch. He sat up carefully and ran his hands down his body. Nothing broken._

_"Here you go”, a voice said nearby, and in front of him, someone handed him something. He held out his hand without hesitation and was pleasantly surprised as someone gave him his glasses. Carefully he put them on, tried squinting through his cracked lens then huffed, giving up, and took them off so he could at least see who he was talking to…_

_And now that he could see clearly, Kei doubted his own eyes. In front of him was_  
a magnificent teen Merfolk specimen. His human part was gorgeous (not that Kei  
was into males), but honestly, the other boy was really handsome, and burgeoning pectorals and biceps were making their appearance. Raven hair, golden eyes, straight nose and a charming grin. And the fish part... oh. my. It was black, long and sleek, starting to branch out on the fins and tail spines like golden elk horn coral. It hinted at strength and power, and toxins within the new blades hidden within those fins. Kei was impressed.

_That was his first encounter with Asami Ryuichi._

 

Sometimes he checked on her via the security cameras. He was curious how she acted when she and the boy were left to themselves. He wondered what she thought of him. He knew she was curious about him too and couldn't explain why he felt like they had a connection of some kind. Maybe he was being delusional, like a young teenaged boy dreaming about his first crush. Or maybe, just maybe, his one very diluted drop of merfolk blood in his body had something to do with it. He didn't know. But, these questions were distracting him from his job, and that was unacceptable. It had to end. He was thinking of her almost to the point of obsession, but whenever they were close, all those thoughts would stop. There was just stillness and his heart beat.

She distrusted humans fiercely and that should have been one more reason to stay away. Because she wouldn’t even eat if they tried to feed her, the boy was the one to take the food left for them, which he would later share with her. But those days, Asami-sama was trying to lure the boy's attention away to himself. The objective was to show him bits of the human world, so the boy would be ready to live a dual life, both in and out of the water, like any regular merfolk with human connections. The workers didn’t like to get too close to the aquarium with the Mers in it since the attack, and he couldn't blame them. This is why he was there, now, trying to clean up the remains of the introductory meal.

Meanwhile, she was stalking him, underwater. He didn't need to see her to know it. He was starting to find out how she could be annoying in that way. He dodged another flying fish, thinking how he would teach her a thing or two if he could get his hands on her, and he suspected that was what she might be taunting him for.

His cock twitched a little at that thought - did she know what she was doing to him? Driving him slowly crazy this way? Yeah, she probably did know it. Might even be counting on it. She had whispered her name in his ear, and that’s when all this madness had started for him. Damn Mer magic.

He stepped forward, his Italian shoes avoiding the fish on the sand as he tried to gather the remainder together as a treat for some of the other sea creatures, firmly believing in “waste not, want not”. But, whenever he tried to tidy up at the ledge of the aquarium, she threw a dead fish at him. It was ridiculous. He quite uncharacteristically wanted to take her over his knees and spank her for it.

His cock twitched again.

She silently emerged from the water again, tossing another fish up and down in her hand. This time she did not smile, but looked at him petulantly. He wanted to wrap her beautiful long, dark blond hair around his hand and pull tight, so he could control the top half as he smacked her bottom half with his other hand - oh gods, he needed to stop this. His was getting hard already. Just then, he heard the wet slap of the fish hitting the side of his glasses at the same instant as he felt the sting. That. Was the last. Straw.

Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the steps as he began to undo the knot of his tie. The fabric fell to the floor gently. Next to go were his shoes and socks. She frowned in confusion, never having seen any of the workers here change clothes, much less one of the important lead men. He took off his jacket and dropped it on the sand, then began unbuttoning his shirt.

Now she was really surprised, squeezing the fish hard and widening her eyes, as if she could not really believe what he was doing. He hesitated, just a bit, when he touched the belt buckle, just to look into her eyes with a mean smirk on his face, waiting to see the reaction on hers. Yeah, you got it, babe.

She sank a little into the water, as if she were shy, letting go of the fish without realizing it - or so he thought. Perhaps it was a tactic to deceive and she intended to attack him as soon as he entered the water. She was more than capable of it... But the thought, oddly enough, didn’t frighten him; on the contrary, he was more excited than ever.

He took off his pants, but not his boxers. His boss, while allowing a large amount of leeway for his friends on most things, may not find it amusing for him be in the aquarium, naked, with his own soulmate swimming around in there, somewhere. He stepped down into the aquarium, aware that he might be heading for his own murder, aware that this was the most stupid move in his entire life, aware that it was, at the very least, a mistake. Aware that getting into the water did not serve any real purpose. Except, it did.

_Teenaged Kei had gotten into trouble after leaving the city behind him and trying to reach the Asami summer estate. The now-orphaned kid had been running from a gang hit on his parents, hoping that any Asami relations were valued by the family. After a week of running scared and taking chances, he’d made it to the seaside town where the manor was located, when a group of local punks had taken an instant dislike to this stranger on their turf and had decided “to teach him a lesson” as something to do. He had taken off, headed towards the sea and, he hoped, safety, when he ended up being cornered along a high fence. He scaled it, leaving behind a fair amount of skin, to find himself inside a private, fancy property. The gang had climbed right up after him and he had run for his life again, but this time, they got him and as punishment, they’d pushed the boy into the pool and wouldn’t let him surface. He held his breath as long as he could, but eventually his struggles began to still, and he all but drowned after several frantic minutes._

_What saved him was one of the estate guards caught the boys "playing" by the pool, and calling out to some of their boys to go get help. Instead, as some of the estate kids had ran to the manor house, a big teen called Kazumi had jumped in to lift the drowning boy out and helped save his life. After that incident, the Master of the estate was contacted and alerted that the Kirishima boy had been located, and things began to turn around for Kei from that day._

_Believing that he had been traumatized by his experiences with water, Kei had occasionally dreamed of being able to breathe under water for years. Sometimes, needing to relax himself after a particularly stressful day at work, in a jacuzzi bath, he’d loosen up so much that he’d fall asleep in the tub and slip under the surface. So far, he’d been lucky enough to wake up in time to save himself from drowning... But what if Asami was right, and it was his dim and distant nature, some shadow of a merfolk instinct, calling him back to the sea?_

 

Even though he was chest deep in the water, Ai didn't rush to attack him. Actually, she did nothing at all, not even when he got into close proximity to her; far too close normally for her liking. When he got near enough, his arm flashed out and grabbed her by the back of her neck, pulling her in close to his body.

"Finally," he breathed, looking into her startled eyes before pressing her against him, kissing the living hell out of her. She was absolutely flabbergasted for several seconds to react to the kiss after he released her, except bob there like a stunned duck. Then, furious, she latched back onto the man’s mouth with an equal hunger as her arms locked around him. Just as quickly, she pushed away from him and kept out of arm's reach as she blushed, looked away, and gave him the shyest, sweetest smile he'd ever seen. But all that changed in a second as that shyness disappeared and she held up her trophy in her fingers, giving him an impudent grin: she had his glasses. She had. his glasses. Shit. He could see her fine, needing the glasses to read, not for vision at a distance, but it would be a nuisance to have to get another pair with his latest prescription in time for work the next day. Gritting his teeth, he decided there was no helping it, he needed his glasses back, and started after her. Of course, he couldn't swim, so he slowly steered his way after her, about as agile as a oil tanker compared to her rolling and diving circles around him like an otter, splashing him at every chance.

 

* * *

 

The heavy grey clouds had piled up in Tokyo's evening sky. The storm came out of nowhere, and people were trapped under marquees and inside shops by the sudden downpour. That night, the rush hour traffic would be a nightmare.

The black car was parked discreetly in the back corner of the parking lot next to the Dracaena Night Club. Sudoh Shuu was drumming his gloved fingers on the wheel, impatient; his contact in Sion headquarters was late and it was starting to piss him off. He glanced around impatiently, not even daring to start to second guess his own plan. There was no reason to worry, really; Asami Ryuichi was meant to be his.

The passenger door opened and a man slid into the seat beside him, trying to shake the water off of his jacket. "This fucking weather ruined my new suit, I can't believe it, fuck!" he said, slamming the door shut.

Sudoh cringed at the mans total lack of class, but they weren't exactly friends or colleagues, and he didn't bother wasting energy on correcting him. He just wanted to be back inside his luxury office in Dracaena and warm up with some fine brandy.

"You got what we’d discussed?" He asked, trying to not sound too eager and failing. "You're late.” The other man scowled, his face barely visible inside the car as the evening got darker.

"Calm down, man. Do you have any idea how risky it is to steal documents from Sion Corp? If they catch me I'll be dead... you will be too, because I’d totally snitch you out!" Sudoh bit his tongue in an attempt to not ruin their deal. Kirihara was the only guy he knew that had the guts to betray Kirishima; he couldn't afford to lose this contact.

"By the way, I got incredible lucky today, let me tell you. It’s pretty rare that Asami and Kirishima take ti-"

"Sama."

"Wha-" Kirihara blinked, confused and annoyed.

"Sama!" Sudoh wouldn’t tolerate disrespect towards his man. "It’s Asami-sama for the likes of you!"

"…Really?" Sudoh Shuu's icy blue eyes glinted with his obsession and the man beside him sighed.

"Fine. I meant, it’s really rare for Asami-SAMA and Kirishima-SAN to take part of the day off. I couldn’t believe it; and, I couldn't lose this opportunity to sneak in and get it." Kirihara sounded very pleased with himself as he took a package from under his jacket. "This’s just a copy, of course. I didn't have time to read it in detail, but I know what it's about, and you're gonna to owe me. Big time."

"What is it?" Sudoh asked anxiously, wide-eyed, losing his composure for a moment without realizing it.

"You know what they say about Asami Ryuichi being part Fish, right?" The Dracaena manager nodded, not really caring for the derogatory term being used in the same sentence as his man’s name. “Well, within this dossier is all the info you need to know about a couple of young merfolk, rescued and cared for by the great man himself." He smirked. "It might possibly even mean that the boy or the girl may, or may not, be his soulmate, as well."

Sudoh took a deep breath, controlling his feelings of rage and disgust, and apparently did a good job of it, for Kirihara didn’t seem bothered by any kind of reaction. His fingers trembled as he reached out to touch the document.

"Oh dear." Kirihara grinned, moving the papers out of Sudoh’s grasp, "Uh-uh, not before I get my payment." Sudoh sighed, muttering to himself before reaching inside his suit jacket. The other man shook his head. “Nah, I don't want your money, honey.... not yet, anyways." Kirihara said before getting himself more comfortable in his seat, letting his legs relax and spread open as he readjusted his position.

Sudoh hesitated only for a moment. There wasn’t any sense in postponing this, besides, he really needed that dossier. In the end, it really was just a small price to pay... He knelt on the floor of the car, which, let’s be honest, was uncomfortable, and waited while Kirihara unbuckled his belt. "Fuck yeah....,” the man hissed, looking down at the striking model on his knees to the side of him. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to feel that pretty pink cocksucking mouth of yours around me..."

Tidal pool.


	9. Chapter 9

Swimming below Akihito, Asami could see the boy’s unconsciously graceful movements out of his peripheral vision, specifically the area on his tail where his hips and thighs would when he was bipedal. The thought of those strong long legs tightening around him almost drove him to distraction, wanting reach up and brush the tip of his nails along the underside of the boy’s belly. He managed to restrain himself, however, having reminded himself that he hadn’t felt those desires in years as his vitality had slipped away little by little, and his "adventures" had become fewer and farther between. He had reached physical and reproductive maturity at the usual age of twenty, (though, to be honest, he’d been “practising” from a much earlier age than that), so this boy would be about… mmm, about eight years old or so back then. While the images of his blond at that age were adorable, he doubted very much he even would have looked at the kid twice, since the soulmate bond wouldn’t have even been created unless they were both physically ready to mate and reproduce when they met.

Feeling a slight surge of pleased surprise from the blond, he watched as Akihito swam down to see an exotic leafy sea dragon floating about, a larger cousin to most sea horses. The fish had odd leaf-like appendages on its body that dangled and floated about independently, making it looked like a drifting piece of seaweed. Looking but not touching the delicate creature, Aki was almost cooing in appreciation at the dove grey pearl-toned colours of the dragon. He tried calling his young mate once or twice to catch his attention, but the youngster seemed mesmerized by the shimmering muted shades as stray light caught the sea dragon. Finally swimming down himself, Asami mentally tried calling one more time as his fingers skimmed Aki’s tail between the bottom of his dorsal fin and where his tail fin began. He watched, captivated, as the scales shimmered with iridescence when the boy shivered slightly at his touch. Looking back over at his guide, the young Mer left the sea dragon and followed Asami to the opening of the third level.

Before they got there, the bigger male warned his guest that this opening was different than the other two as the main pumps and filtration system was lodged down here, out of the way, and because of the room taken up by the equipment, this way spiralled down with a stronger current than the sloping turns of the other levels. On hearing this, Aki asked if there were any obstacles at the bottom to watch for, and after getting a puzzled ‘no’ for an answer, he mentally whooped, rushed into the current, and was carried down and away tail first with his arms thrown up like he was on an amusement park ride. Several moments later, as a surprised Asami chuckled, Akihito popped up out of the shaft from below, eagerly swam by him and did it again. The next time the boy reappeared, he grabbed the big male’s arm and hauled him along for the ride. The sudden plunge into relative darkness, corkscrewing down a turn and a half in rushing water before spilling them out the other end all topsy turvy reminded Asami of riding along the currents under the rolling waves with his cousins, in the bay near the estate he lived at in Summers past. He suddenly wanted to take his little mate there, to let him experience what it was like to play, free, in the ocean. He silently promised them both that he would take some time off in the warmer weather with Akihito and do just that.

Meanwhile, the object of his vow was busy giggling away, shaking his head as if a little dizzy and grinning like an idiot, which certainly did nothing to cool the growing fondness and attraction he felt for this boy. When Akihito had calmed some, Asami lead the way into the darker regions, the dim light giving neither one of them pause. Down here were small sized sea turtles munching on drowsy squid, and cuttlefish with their riot of changing colours and camouflage watched them swim by with their strange, alien eyes. A few specimens of giant sea clams were open, filtering the water for their food with their purple inner lining as blueberry sea fans waved about slowly on nearby rocks. Asami lead Akihito deeper, where large support columns loomed, covered in sponges, brain corals and starfish. In among the columns played the porpoises, slalom racing with their lightning fast, tight twisting turns through the openings, then gliding up the shafts to breathe up at the surface. Asami waited for them to come over in pairs and trios, rubbing their slight beaks with his hand before scratching itchy spots on individuals. The porpoises started to jostle each other good-naturedly for their turns until a few of the bolder ones came over to check out Akihito. Once it was determined that the smaller Mer could hand out tickles and scratchies too, he was swarmed. Being younger and more playful than Asami, he didn’t mind the occasional nudge or shove from competing clients, and if things got a bit rough with the knocks, he dished out some body checks of his own, too. Somehow, the big male Mer wouldn’t doubt finding a few of the delinquent younger ones chillin’ out with his Aki, occasionally harassing engorged puffer fish to get a natural high off their toxin.

After a while, the porpoises moved on, returning to their games or going back up to the middle level now that they’d met one of the new neighbours. Asami resumed taking Akihito further back into the lowest level, where the gloom took up permanent residency. A silvery flash up ahead caught the boy’s attention, and when they came up to it, Asami slowed to let Akihito go ahead. What he saw was stunning: containers of loose gemstones, precious metal coins in various sizes, gold bars and plates, jewellery galore, all in front of a large shaped semi-circle of polished marine grade titanium, slightly taller and wider than his guide could reach stretched out. Hesitantly slipping inside the metal form, Akihito gasped as the shape amplified what little light there was down there, centring it all on him while it reflected back its visitor almost a full 360°. For the first time in his life, Aki saw what he fully looked like, and was amazed. This was truly a merman’s treasure garden, and Asami had brought him to see it. That idea made Akihito grow still: If Asami had taken Ai to show her this, that would clearly be courting behaviour, or at least the kind of thing done to show an interest in courting an individual. And the poor boy didn’t know how to react, never having this happen before. He was frozen _in situ_ , afraid to move or speak in case he fucked up somehow.

But Asami came to his rescue, coming up behind him in the mirror shell, bearing something long and glinting in his hands. It was a twisted rope chain, a little smaller in diameter than the torque still around his neck, maybe 90-some centimetres (40-odd inches) in length. He draped it over Akihito’s neck, trying various styles on the boy, but from the considering look on his face, he wasn’t pleased with any of the results. He didn’t seem to like wrapping a loop down his boy’s chest with a tighter, choker-like loop about his neck, then dropping the rest down his back, nor draping one end under the blond’s arm, letting it hang about his shoulder front and back, then twisted it around the boy’s neck to drape around his other shoulder and under his other arm. Finally, he took one end of it, brought it down around Aki’s waist, and cinched its loosely on top of his scales there, using a large gold button brooch with a cabochon onyx stone in it, leaving the remainder of the chain to hang free. Pleased with the result, he swam backwards a little to take in the whole view. There was his Akihito, silent and unmoving, lovely as a marble statue, afraid to do anything, (even meet his eyes), but blush. He chuckled quietly, deciding to give his little soulmate something to stare at.

Akihito, as dazed as he was by this turn of events, could feel water currents curl behind him as Asami moved. Glancing up into the mirror to see behind himself, he gaped at the sight of the big male, flexing his considerable muscles as his fins and tail flared, the gold of his smouldering eyes matching the colouring of his bared blades. He was a head taller, a metre of tail fins longer, and almost twice as wide across in full display than the boy himself. It was the most impressively attractive intimidating thing Aki had ever seen, and if the blond could’ve gasped in heart stopping disbelief, he would have. What was even more fantastic to the boy was that it was, unmistakably, all for him. Ho-ly shit.

 

xxxxxxxxx

 

Akamatsu Azusa had been raised to be a peerless lady among peerless ladies. Of French and Japanese parentage, she had fair soft skin, bright blue eyes, and the blondest silken hair - her son used to think of it as strands of gold – that money could pay her hairstylist for. Her pink, delicate lips would smile sweetly at everyone, and her low, polite voice would say whatever people wanted to hear. It wasn't a surprise that her son turned out to be a lithe, light brunet beauty himself, and just like her, he was being raised to be a member of Tokyo's high society, with the pampered lifestyle of an important heir: enjoying gourmet food, riding around in flashy imported cars and having the latest expensive designer clothes.

It wasn't until his father's downfall, the most scandalous bankruptcy of the decade within their social circle, that he found out her true colours. Back then, her name was Sudou Azusa and her husband’s public extramarital adventures didn't seem to faze her even a little. She would shrug her dainty shoulders and say "Oh, he's a very hard working man, Sudou my darling. Why must you only think of his flaws?" But when the media found out the prestigious business man was broke as fuck because of his bad luck while gambling drunk, her sweet smile faded into a pouty frown.

"I seem to have lost my appetite." she proclaimed at the breakfast table before setting down the newspaper beside her place setting, then taking the fine linen napkin from her lap and laying it across her plate. He had never seen her reading a newspaper before, and if that was the reaction she had to the news, he could understand why. As she departed the dining room, from his side of the table he could read his father's name written large across the headline. After pulling the paper to him, he began to skim over the front page article, which all boiled down to this: his father’s wealth and high social standing was over. Honestly, Shuu didn't know what to do, or what was going to happen. He had his first panic attack at the thought that his life, as he knew it, was over. At least he had a good, caring Mom who would take care of things in this moment of crisis, since his father was probably unconscious, locked in his office with at least three or four empty bottles on his desk, not having left the room to even bathe for days.

His parents hadn’t shared the same bed for years now, (according to the gossip of the house employees), so Mrs. Sudou headed off to her bedroom, her son following her, desperately waiting for some kind of words of comfort and guidance. His mom didn't seem worried, upset or angry... which just didn’t seem possible, right? She was probably trying her best to not show any kind of weakness in front of him and the staff; it simply had to a lesson about family pride and decorum... right?

"…Mom?”

She didn't look at him, focused instead on applying a new layer of lipstick, which she didn't really need. “Yes, dear?"

'Tell me it’s all gonna be okay', he wanted to shout, begging for any reassurance in his mind. “Mom... we're poor now, right? What’s going to hap…”

"Oh, are you worried about the school tuition and fees? Don't worry sweetheart, it was already paid for before your father's... missteps."

Talk about an understated euphemism.

"You're going finish this school year right where you are." She was combing her hair with her antique tortoise shell comb, eyes never leaving the mirror.

"Mom!" ‘Fuck, can’t you see I’m scared?’

She glanced at him, slightly bothered, and chided "Oh babe, don’t yell. It's rude."

"MOM! WE HAVE NOTHING! WE ARE ARE RUINED! - What..." his brimming tears blurred out her face. "What’s going to happen to us? What are we going to do now?"

She sighed. "Come here, honey." Her pet names were really starting to piss him off. 'I am not your sweetheart, your babe, or your honey. Just call me your son for once!', he thought. As he approached her, he looked at her closely for the first time in ages, and noticed that she wasn't so young and pretty anymore. 'Was she using botox? How'd she afford that now?'

"Sweetie... do you know why your father wanted to marry me in the first place?"

He nodded hesitantly, a little confused. His father had told him about the day he'd met her. It had been another high society party, and she wasn’t on the official list of guests, but she had still tried to gain entry using someone else’s name. When she couldn't fool the security guard, Sudou Sadao, an entitled guest and influential man back then, chuckled and decided to intervene; he'd been watching the cute, barely legal girl’s antics and 'fast talking' for some time, and had found her much too fun and enticing to let go. It wasn't even a year after that they were married, and two years later that Shuu had been born.

"It was because I was a young, pretty status symbol, honey." Sudou had never thought about his parents’ relationship before like that. What had prompted them to want to get to know each other, how they had thought of each other back then, and how had they became so distant since?

“Think of Tokyo's upper society as a huge aquarium, dear." Again with the pet names. “Your mother was a beautiful ornamental fish, rare and a joy to look at, just like you, honey. We exist to make this bland, wealthy aquarium beautiful, colourful, interesting to be a part of. Your father used to be a big fish back then.... but now, the situation has changed, hasn’t it. Just like it always does.”

She didn't meant what he thought she meant, did she?

“There are so many other big fish nowadays, and I’ve had a great chance to look after my future, in case your father tired of me enough to go on to the next best thing he desired, and leave me behind, you know? You’re his heir, which we agreed on before he started taking up with his flings, so you would have been looked after, no matter what, even if he paid me to leave and break off all communication with you. But you are a freshman in secondary school now, so you should start to think about how you are going to look after yourself too, babe. You know you won’t be pretty forever, dear."

He couldn't believe it. "Are you just a fucking gold digger, then? A luxury-hound prostitute..." The words slipped out off his mouth by themselves, low and venomous.

She snarled as she slapped his face as hard as she could with a clawed hand, and for a second, he felt dizzy. "You already sound like him and his stuck-up buddies, ready to barter me out for favours, then condemn me for looking out for myself. Spoiled little shit." He had never been hit before, and the sting of the slap made his face burn. A tiny dribble of blood leaked out from his mouth.

"Oh, look what you made me do! I broke a nail... And I just got a fresh manicure."

He was in complete shock. A moment later the sound of a gun shot in the house made him jump. His eyes widened as he jerked his head towards the hallway. "Dad..." The man kept a gun in a locked drawer by his desk in the office where he'd holed up. His mom always said it was stupid to keep such dangerous 'toy' at home, and his father, with his shady bushinesses, hadn't said a word; but being a little paranoid, he had kept it, thinking one day someone would try “remove” him from his position. After all, a big man like him tended to make more enemies than friends over the years.

"Well then, finally..." his mother muttered to herself, with some satisfaction. “That man had always been a coward, you know? About time he finally summoned up the nerve.” Her light, airy tone held nothing but venom and spite. "Don’t worry, Shuu-kun. You don't carry any of his genes." She gave him an ugly smirk and winked at him before she left the bedroom, already going through a mental list of what all she needed to do next to secure what she could before the lawyers and debtors started to circle like vultures; focusing first on getting someone to deal with the headache of calling the police and an ambulance after they’d checked on the Master’s condition.

Sudou Shuu lost everything that day: his home, his lifestyle, his Dad, and the image he’d had of his dear sweet loving Mom.

 

She had told him he could continue at the prestigious boarding school until the end of his first year, so he returned to class as soon as possible after the funeral, but before his father's estate had started to be scavenged, even though now it would be hell for him. All his supposed friends pretended they didn't know him, the girls looked at him like he was something that was now beneath them, and the bigger guys would push him around and bully him like he was a loser.

All he'd heard was "Aw, did I hurt you, Shuu? Well, sue me, you little bitch. Maybe that’ll help pay off your father’s debts.”

The only time he had any peace was at the library, or when hiding in a bathroom. But this time around, it hadn’t worked in his favour, as some of the boys, including an exchange student by the name of Arbatov, a cool Russian guy who normally watched things happen from a corner and seemed to find everything just a bit too amusing, caught up to him and decided they wanted to play.

Collectively, they announced they’d help him wash his hair, now that he ‘probably didn’t have the money to buy shampoo'. They pushed his face into a suitably prepared toilet bowl and flushed it a couple of times. They laughed like a clan of hyenas, sadistically pulling the last of his dignity apart like only rich, pampered kids that turn on someone that used to be one of them can. He thought about how killing himself would make it all go away, just like his father did. His face was burning red from humiliation, and he couldn't bring himself to hate anyone but his Dad for putting him in this position.

"C’mon guys.." Arbatov finally said in his odd accent at some point. "He's pretty, like a girl. Let him go, I don't need to see him cry. Besides, I’m getting hungry."

The boys laughed, and one of them complained that Sudou was ‘too hard to break, for a girl’. He didn't know that Sudou had cried himself to sleep the last few nights, and thought there were no more tears left for him..

"I know", Arbatov said, sounding bored, "and I can kinda admire that". He winked at the pack of boys around him. "But I’m bored and hungry now... So can we go?"

Left alone in the bathroom, Sudou leaned his wet back against the tiled wall, vaguely thinking about how he might dry himself off when the door opened again and someone entered. To his horror and mortification, it was none other than Asami Ryuichi of course, his crush, his walking wet dream. Now, his nightmare. Asami Ryuichi was perfection from every perspective. His family was powerful and extremely feared/respected. He had class, breeding, was handsome and intelligent, there wasn't anything he tried that he wasn't good at. For years, Sudou had watched him from afar at middle school, trying to gather enough courage to say 'hello', even to ask something stupid, hoping it would make Asami acknowledge his existence, and maybe be friends with him.

Asami didn't even glance at him now, moving directly to the urinal to do his business in silence. Sudou prayed not to be noticed, not now, not when he was at his lowest point; wet, messy hair stinking of piss, shamed and humiliated, his ego completely obliterated. He wanted to dig a hole, crawl in there, and fill it in over himself. For the second time in ten minutes, he'd considered suicide. He’d closed his eyes without noticing as he turned away and tried to become invisible. He heard Asami zipping up his fly and his soft steps on the wet bathroom floor. He didn't hear the door open after a few minutes, though, therefore he opened his eyes tiredly to face whatever else was to come.

Asami Ryuichi was in front of him, looking even more handsome this close up. He took an actual folded handkerchief from his school jacket, not just the standard polyester pocket square, and calmly unfolded it. Reaching out, he began to wipe Sudou's face carefully, focusing on his job. His yellowish eyes didn't have the mean glint in them the other boys had, and he didn't see Sudou Shuu as an nuisance to be stomped on; he saw him as a kid in a bad position he hadn’t created himself.

Embarrassed, Sudou felt his eyes fill with tears and tried to hold them in as much as he could. Asami looked him in the eye and quietly told him "Don't let them win". He put the handkerchief in Shuu’s shaky hand, stepped back and told him to keep it before turning away and leaving the bathroom.

Just like that, Sudou knew he would love Asami Ryuichi until his dying day. He would do anything and everything he could to catch his attention, impress him, take care of him and ensure his happiness, and make him never regret this little act of kindness that, unknown to him, Asami had already forgotten. Every rung back up the social ladder that he climbed from then on, every time he took advantage of someone, or let someone physically or emotionally use him, it was all calculated and dedicated to gathering wealth, the proper status and improving little imperfections to his looks and form to make him the perfect match to hold a man like Asami Ryuichi’s attention for as long as he could. And the gods look out for anyone who got in his way.


	10. Chapter 10

When Akihito finally dared to breathe again, he couldn’t help but shiver at the expectant look on Asami’s face. As careful and thoughtful as his guide was, he hadn’t made any of the normal overtures at friendship that the blond could recognize, instead, seemingly diving right into some kind of courting behavior. Didn’t the big male know he was a male too? And oh, Gods of the Deep, how upset or angry would he be when he realized that the Silver Tail he was so interested in couldn’t be his mate? He’d seen Dominants fly into a battle rage before for less, but then again, he’d never seen a male take such care and consideration of strange Mers introduced into his aquarium before, either. Maybe he was sure of himself enough that he’d laugh off his mistake, and still treat Aki kindly as he turned his attention to Ai…? And if Ai turned him down like she had other suitors in the past, he could only hope that this Asami wouldn’t take it out on him. He liked it here. He was comfortable, Ai and he didn’t haveto constantly watch their backs they were well-looked after, and it was starting to feel safe; more importantly, he felt like he would even be able to venture into the Outside from here in time. It all depended on how they both reacted now.

Asami, meanwhile, had the strangest feeling that he could hear crickets chirping in the background. He’d wined and dined others before, sure, and if that hadn’t been enough to seal the deal for the evening, he wasn’t above showing off a bit too by flexing his assets (and most certainly NOT the ones found in his business portfolio!). This boy that was his soulmate, however, seemed as stunned as any crab he’d seen hypnotized by a hunting cuttlefish’s lightshow. Something was off, and maybe he needed to draw back a little so the boy wouldn’t be overwhelmed or scared off. As he drew his fins in, back to their resting state against his body, his blond surprised him by speaking up.

‘Um, not to be rude or… unappreciative?, but I feel I need to make sure you know that I’m a male, right?’

Asasmi’s somewhat concerned expression twitched with amusement as he tried to control a pending smirk and replied civilly ‘Yes, Akihito, I am well aware of that fact.’

That was not the reply the boy was expecting. He stared, even more surprised and confused now than ever. ‘Then why are you showing off for me? You do know that two males can’t mate, right?’

Asami couldn’t help the smug look as he inched closer to the discombobulated boy. ‘I think you may be mistaken, Akihito. While it’s true that males normally can’t breed together, they can, most certainly, mate…’ The look his blond had on right now reminded him of an old slapstick comedy film where the star had been smacked in the face with the handle of a rake head he'd accidentally stepped on. Sidling up closer so Akihito was now staring up more at his broad pectoral muscles than his face, he pitched his thoughts into more of a persuasive tone. ‘I’ve had a variety of male and female partners, human, Mer and hybrid alike in the past, and after all of them, I find that I’m drawn to you, little boy.’

The addition of the “little boy” was enough to fire up that spark in Akihito, and with a glare, the boy seethed out ‘There’s that term “soulmate” again. Everybody seems to like to say it, but nobody tells me what it means. Are you gonna punk out on me too, or do you have the gall to tell me about it.’ And gods help him, he automatically regretted saying it that way, ‘cause Asami got this pleased predator look on his face that made the scales on him itch and his tail want to squirm outta there.   
‘My pleasure, my dear little Akihito. A soulmate is that one individual of any sex, Man , Mer or both, that completes you, confounds you, turns your world upside down and is the perfect partner for breeding with, so that the best genes of both partners can be passed on. The Dominant of the pair seeks the other one out, and convinces them to become theirs.’ Seeing the look of dawning understanding and dismay on Akihito’s face, Asami couldn’t help himself as his upper body brushed up against the boy’s arm as he mentally purred ‘by whatever means he or she can devise.’ Startled eyes sought his out as he chuckled teasingly. ‘All’s fair in love and war, after all…’

Aki, meanwhile, had been listening closely, and was starting to draw some of his own conclusions. He crossed his arms, and got that stubborn tilt to his head, determined not to be some easy lay for a hot looking stud. How he, obviously not a Dominant, was supposed to give Asami any offspring seemed rather ridiculous to him, and he wondered if this all might not be some line of bull that Asami used to get his way in the past. Now, the big male had said that he and Ai could entertain guests in the aquarium, so that meant to him, at least, that other Mers came by to visit or pay their respects. He supposed he could always reserve final judgment until he talked to other unbiased sources and verified this story. Meanwhile, since the way Asami was slowly circling about him and using any excuse to try and stir him up with whispers of touches and by causing water currents to brush against his more ticklish areas, it might be fun to play along until he could prove that he was or wasn’t this male’s perfect mate. Clownfish queens used to be the biggest male of their group until the lone female died and the male changed gender, after all. Weirder shit than that happened all the time.

Finally coming to a decision, Akihito swept his silvery fan of a tail between the big male and him, gaining some room between them and letting the other one know to back off now. The other male drifted back a little ways, a smug little look on his face as the water waved his long dark hair around his head and over his golden eyes. The smaller blond shot him an accusing look, as if trying to determine if the big male was making himself look more alluring on purpose. Probably not, he decided, the other one likely just oozed sex the way hag fish oozed slime. Buckets and buckets of slime…

‘Alright, I’ll go along with this for now, Asami. You can try to win me if you want, but I’ll tell you right now, I’m not just going to swoon into your big strong arms, bastard.’ Asami’s eyes glittered at this declaration, seeing it as both a worthy challenge to his determination, and the first step to his soulmate’s total and complete capitulation. ‘In fact, I think it’s only fair that you should have this back,’ the blond impulsively decided as he bent to undo the brooch and remove the rope chain that Asami had put around him. The hybrid’s eyebrows rose in surprise, (and a little alarm), seeing this as an outright rejection of his arrogant presumption of his soulmate as being an easy conquest like all the others. He approached again slowly, not giving any sign of being threatening in any way. Aki hesitated a moment, poised more towards “flight” than “fight” depending on what the other male did next.

‘Why do you not want my gift, Akihito? Was I offensive in some way?’

‘Huh? No, it’s just too much. This,’ he said as he pointed at his neck, ‘this is amazing, thank you. But these,’ he indicated the rope chain and onyx brooch, ‘these are too much. I can’t accept them.’

‘And why not? If I choose to give them to you, it’s because I want you to have them.’ Asami argued, not used to having his personal decisions questioned. Akihito, apparently, had plans to change that.

‘And if I don’t want them, who’s going to make me take them? You?’ the boy snorted. ‘That’s a hell of a way to win me over; I believe it’s called being a bully. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take my gifts and be grateful.” Real smooth plan to worm your way into my affections, don’tcha think.’

Always willing to gamble for something he truly wanted; Asami quickly decided to make up a Plan B on the spot and implement it. ‘Well, if that’s the case, I suppose one of us will have to let Ai know that since you won’t take my second gift as proof of my sincere desire to try and woo you, little boy,’ Aki bristled slightly at the tone, ‘Then in all fairness, she might want to return one of her gifts as well.’

Akihito frowned at the blatant injustice of that statement, delivered so smoothly. ‘But,’ he spluttered, ‘you aren’t trying to impress her. You said so yourself! How is making her return her gift anything but a punishment to her for my not wanting to accept your other gift!?’

‘Because, my dear soulmate,’ that term the big male was throwing around was really starting to make Aki grind his teeth. ‘The mirror and hair comb set was a personal gift from me. The hair pins and decorative hair combs were picked out and included by another who admires her; I just hadn’t told her that yet. So, if you don’t accept my added gift and what it stands for, I think we should let Ai know about her separate gift as well, and let her decide if she wants to accept both of hers while you only take your welcome gift. What do you think?’

The blond was furious, because he knew Ai would give up her admirer’s gift, no matter how much she liked them, if he refused his gift from his devotee. And Ai really liked them, judging by the way she had carefully handled them and admired all of their colours in the light. No matter what his personal feelings towards his “promise” gift from Asami were, he owed Ai too much for looking out for him to make her unhappy just for his sake. Pretty sure that the big male had somehow wrangled things to be in his favor from the beginning, he grudgingly accepted defeat by leaving all of his gifts on him where the black-haired bastard had put them. But if Asami thought he’d be allowed to throw all kinds of gifts at him without a fight from now on, he was sorely mistaken.

Triumphant in their first battle of wills, Asami graciously kept from gloating too much through their mental link, which was just another way he ended up pissing the blond off. He agreed that they should leave and make their way back to the surface level and see if his man Kirishima needed to be saved from the Siren up there. Instead of taking the fast way up through the shafts to the top level, after they used one to make their way up the middle level, Asami seemed to want to linger a little, slowly making their way back up to the surface level. All the way back, by the way his fingertips lightly brushed the boy’s, Aki steadfastly refused the implied offer to hold hands with Asami. Not really caring about what that might say about his maturity level at the moment, the boy just wanted to nurse his grudge for the rest of this visit, at least.

 

Meanwhile, Kirishima was starting to seriously entertain the thought of finding out if one could actually drown a mermaid. The gorgeous little shit had been spitting water fountains at him, splashing him without remorse and staying just out of his reach, which was really wearing his resolve (and his physical reserves) down.

Now, understand this: Kirishima Kei was a serious business-orientated man who always liked to do things the correct way, whether it was uncovering the true total net worth of a business that his boss wanted to obtain, or in determining whom the current movers and shakers in a certain territory were. He was a meticulous man in all things, and frankly, he enjoyed going through the current fiscal quarter’s numbers of all of Asami-sama’s business interests, line by line, and not finding any anomalies more than anything else, including ordering an escort for an evening of “relaxing entertainment”.

He had come up with the excuse about needing to know more about merfolk in general to help with his employer’ soulmate previously, but honestly, the courting habits of Ai's specific breed had nothing to do with his boss' Silver Tail boy. For a mere human like himself, studying a field totally outside of his sphere of expertise was both tedious and difficult work, but he was nothing if not persistent. As annoying as it was, he knew he had to prove himself worthy of her attention. She understood his human limitations, and now he felt confident that he understood her particular merfolk ways as well. He had, in his own reasonable and thorough way, looked into studies of Veil Tail merfolk courting behavior , and had researched it little by little, from old wives tales and seafarer superstitions through to actual anthropological surveys until he checked his facts by submitting a published dissertation on the subject to be reviewed by his learned “peers” in the field. Thus, he now felt completely confident in his personal area of interest - by his becoming a fucking academic authority on it.

But now that he thought about it, as he tried very hard not to drown, what good was all that book learning if they couldn't even communicate!

Yet here he was, chasing her through the shallow end of the aquarium, trying to find a place to hide among the maze of rocks and coral mounds and possibly ambush her, perhaps even tackle her to end her little game of “keep away”, and retrieve the one prize that might let him approach her more easily from now on: his glasses. He was anything but a decent dog paddler, however; seriously, he was nowhere near her level of ease in the water at. all. He wondered if she thought he was just plain clumsy and slow, not even good enough to be ranked on the same level as a sea cow, and it drove him onwards to try to exceed in his efforts. And sure enough, what he did succeed in doing was to soon become completely exhausted. He was honestly starting to reconsider that this whole courting thing wasn't exactly his best idea, but knowing there was no way around it if he wanted her to -

Right then she grabbed him about the wrist and dove deeper, a little too quickly for his liking. He closed his eyes to try not to let himself panic, as the faster and further down she took him, the more certain he was that he couldn't hold his breath much longer.

He felt their headlong rush finally slow, and her long delicate fingers caress his cheek, and when he opened his eyes to look around, he was mildly surprised to not feel the sting of salt water. Distracted with his surroundings, he didn’t feel her glide closer until she popped up in his face as a fuzzy blob of colour and kissed him fiercely, hands around his neck, forcing his lips to press tightly against hers, her tongue making its way into his mouth, caressing his tongue and exploring his teeth until she exhaled, forcing oxygen from her gills into him. When she finally released him from her arms, it took him a minute to shake off the shock and realize he didn't feel the urgent need to breathe anymore. She took his hand and touched his finger tip to the area in front of his ear… Did he have a slit there?! He quickly and tentatively explored by touch, realizing it was a gill slit, and there were a few smaller ones preceding it towards the back of his neck and hair line. And speaking of hair, he realized the dark bits of seaweed floating about his head, teasing the corners of his vision, was long strands of dark hair. His. Longer, even, than when he was a kid at the Asami’s beach for the first time.

Ai, meanwhile, was hovering nearby, admiring her handiwork. Her magic wouldn’t last long, maybe 15 minutes tops, she’d been told, but it was enough to see how this man dealt with ground-shaking surprises, and see what kind of stuff he was made of. IF he was a potential mate, or even her soulmate, as she was starting to suspect by her feelings around him, he still needed to measure up to her standards. And so far, he was. Surprisingly, he wasn’t afraid, he didn’t act concerned about drowning at the moment, he just seemed to turn in circles and gawk at his surroundings. Promising, if not overly spectacular, results. But, she was willing to cut him some slack because what the man didn’t know about swimming, he DID know about kissing. Which, she could work with.

Any more such pleasant thoughts were crushed when a blond tsunami of waving arms and tail fins burst onto the scene, sputtering and incoherently yelling over the shared mental link. Aki had returned from his time alone with their host, and he didn’t seem to be taking the current situation very well.

‘Ai, what are you doing? What the hell are you thinking?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ASAMI’S MAN!?!’ The mermaid frowned. So. Noisy! Aki, in her opinion, desperately needed to get laid. That response set off even more splutters and floundering around, even as the hybrid’s deep chuckle joined their mental wave. Aki, feeling that he was losing any influence he may have over the Siren, rounded on the big male following him and started in on him instead. ’What are YOU laughing about? Aren’t you worried about your man being led astray by this bitch and being eaten like sushi?’ 

The big dark male seemed to be considering this even as he was trying to hide a smirk. ‘I think you mean sashimi rather than sushi, Akihito, because I’ve never seen Kei rolled in sticky rice and wrapped in sea weed.’ The boy set his fists on his hips, scowling at Ai and Asami collectively, one for their unapologetic attitude, the other for being no help whatsoever.

Now, Asami already knew something was up with Kirishima since his stuttered opinion of the girl when the pair was first brought from the warehouse. Maybe his poorly hidden amusement over what the previously calm, cool, collected Kei was doing, falling ass over tea kettle for this Mer girl, was somewhat cruel, but even the normally stoic Suoh had already commented to him about Kei’s behavior, including his clandestine spying on the Mers in their aquarium. The only problem Ryuichi had with that scenario was that his friend hadn’t offered to share the surveillance link with him on his own. He gave both Kei and Kazumi a lot of leeway in what they did at Sion from years of friendship and loyalty. And yet here Asami was, coming back from his own inaugural private time with his soulmate, only to find Kei, his #1 man, splashing about IN the water that he feared, wearing only his undies, chasing a mermaid about, FOR HIS GLASSES.

Maybe he’d just let Kei keep bobbing about until Aki and Ai calmed down. But after glancing at the loudly disputing Mers, especially with his Aki throwing a "what the hell!?" fit at Ai, Asami decided that Kirishima would probably need to start breathing air sooner than the squabbling pair would be done. Due to his large size and long arms, he calmly reached over a distracted Ai's head, plucked the glasses from her hand before she crushed the frames by mistake, and gave them back to a somewhat flustered Kei. He then gave Ai an amused look, complete with a devilishly raised eyebrow, and invited the pouting mermaid to judge a "blush" contest between his boy and his assistant, both of whom were currently several deep shades of red for very different reasons. And those wet underpants did leave very little to the imagination… Right, best move things along and let the pair of blonds hash things out between themselves.

Turning to his old friend, Asami gestured for them to move along, and after a second’s delay, Kei nodded his head and thought ‘Hai, Asamim-sama.’ Asami blinked at that. While Mer magic might temporarily allow a human to change enough not to drown while submerged, it didn’t allow for mental communication. Maybe his friend’s distantly shared merfolk genes were expressed stronger than either of them thought. Well, only time and Ai’s continued messing about would tell.

As the older pair quietly moved off, Asami caught sight of a certain tiny octopus peering out from between some rocks. ‘You’d be smart to stay in there until this blows over, little one.’ Asami thought with mild amusement. The octopus regarded him for several moments, then wisely uncoiled some arms and moved itself back into deeper shelter.

By the time the older males had made it back to the steps where their various clothes were, Kei was back to his old air breathing self, no worse for wear, other than a semi-permanent shade of red to his face and neck. He kept apologizing, repeatedly, until Asami was ready to order him to just stop. Perhaps his #1 man still had a touch of a mental telepathy about him, because he shut up after that thought pretty damn quick. After dressing themselves and gathering up the detritus from the meal, they went over to the elevator door and waited for their ride. Just as the door opened, Asami spoke with a self-depreciating grin. “Don’t worry, Kei. I know the attraction these merfolk have, after all. Any time you want to come down and visit, you are welcome to.” An evil glint came to his eyes as he glanced at his friend. “Banana hammock optional, of course.” Poor Kei stood there, horrified by the Speedo reference, as the door closed on his boss’s back and the elevator departed.

 

Several hours later found Akihito playing with one of his crab buddies, thinking about how one of the benefits of such a large space was that it afforded time for the two of them to cool off without constantly swimming into each other. He could tell Ai was searching about for him, finally deigning to forgive him enough to want to talk. The thought made him roll his eyes. Lucky him. Eventually, she found him, and approached him slowly, like she wanted something from him, but didn’t know how to go about approaching him about it. That, made him nervous. Glancing up at her, he saw that he had reason to be and put the crab down, ready to swim off in another huff.

‘Oh no. Nonononono. You’ve got That Look, Ai.No.’

‘What?! What look –‘

‘Whenever you have some insane, crazy-assed idea, you get this lunatic gleam in your eyes. Last time was when you wanted to set that asshole’s place on fire.’ 

‘Who, the dickwad that wanted to breed us and sell our babies?! That’s the least he deserved!’

Aki rubbed his forehead in frustration. ‘And your awesome idea of dumping me and some tank water into a wheelbarrow and you legging us out of there, all while you were naked…?’

Ai scowled, crossing her arms in front of her in a huff. ‘If I could’ve figured out how to work that backhoe, I know I could’ve scooped you and the water out of the tank in one go. It would’ve worked!’

The blond just shook his head as he swam away, sorrowfully reflecting that if his was the only Voice of Reason in this aquarium, then they were both. seriously. screwed.


	11. Chapter 11

Asami’s eyes were open and searching his dark surroundings before he’d even woken up completely. He’d had the dream again; the only one he’d ever had that haunted him. It wasn’t even a nightmare, just the same theme, playing over and over again, like a CD with a flaw in it: neither able to go back to skip over it, nor able to fast forward to avoid it; it was just stuck trying to play through over and over as it juddered on the same spot. He sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes. He’d hoped, as much as he could let himself, that with finding his Akihito he might stop these ripples to his internal calm, but apparently, it wasn’t to be. 

He looked at the windows at the far wall, watching the rain sheeting down the glass, the blur of the city lights below warping with the flow of the water. It was raining cats and dogs out there again; maybe goats soon too if the wind picked up. It would probably lead to some flooding in the city if it stayed raining this hard for a few days like it was predicted to. Asami smirked before rolling over to the bedside table, picking up his Dunhill lighter and cigarette case and lighting up a smoke. With the rate that Tokyo was sinking while the sea levels rose, Akihito might be able to swim through the older parts of the city’s streets within fifteen years, despite what city engineers were attempting to do with typhoon water diversion. Same thing with London, New York, Vancouver… Maybe he should look into investing in properties along future flooding shorelines, buy them up for his kind to take over, reclaim some back of what humans had taken from them. Hmm, he’d always heard the Azores were lovely for diving in, the same with Polynesia. Maybe he’d buy up the Great Barrier Reef islands for Ai and Kei in the South Coral Sea. It would be funny as hell to tease Kei about wanting to see his tan lines, as he was willing to bet that Ai would bully him into going nude full time at home.

Deciding to raise that proposition at the next meeting with his Mer associates, he got up to use the toilet, checked his phone, then decided he was wide awake and, slipping on his house slippers and dressing robe, went out to fix himself a drink. There was no pressing business to look after, he didn’t want to text Kei or Kazumi in case they were “relaxing”with “company” or possibly even asleep already on a rare early night. Taking a sip of his double whiskey neat, his mind slid to his cousin Shinji’s message. It was probably the cause of the dream’s re-occurrence, after all. 

Not that it meant trouble necessarily, just that he’d hear all about their extended Merfolk family news and gossip, including his mother, her soulmate and their children when he arrived for his visit. He didn’t know how many siblings he had now, how their colony was fairing, or even where it was. His mother and he hadn’t talked since he’d gone to the Summer estate with her at the start of vacation from his second year at elementary school, and he’d gone into town at some point to meet his father; only they’d come home to find her gone and most of her Mer servants had left with her. She’d left only with what she’d arrived with, leaving anything his father had given her behind, including him. Several of her elderly retainers had stayed behind for his instructions in Merfolk society, but one by one, they too had all left. Since then, some of her elder relatives didn’t feel he was enough of a Mer due his mother’s departure without him, and hadn’t made any efforts to stay connected with him or his business interests, years later, even as they benefited from his many spheres of influence through the Asami name. In that way, at least, humans and Mers seemed to have quite a bit in common. 

Shinji would find out about Akihito and Ai just by staying in his aquarium during his visit. Depending on the path of his return trip home, all of the Asian Pacific Mers would know about him courting his boy inside of a week. That he was hosting both a fully pure blood young colonizing “queen” and an extremely rare type of feisty little Mer would no doubt send long-lost friends of his youth to try and get in touch with him, just to “catch up” and find out any juicy details they could to trade for notoriety at boring gatherings wherever they were, which meant his and Akihito’s personal business would be available for world-wide dissection within the Mer community inside of two weeks. He both chuckled and groaned at that thought, imagining both of his house guests’ reactions to the news of a visitor from the outside world coming to share their home. 

Taking another sip of his drink, he then realized he’d have to let Shinji know ahead of time that he had a pair of rescues staying with him at Sion, and that he’d need to send a battery of different tests ahead of his arrival for the marine doctors to go through and make sure he wasn’t carrying some parasite or virus that Mers at large were immune to, but that the two in the sub-basement hadn’t been exposed to before. Damn, this was going to be complicated. Maybe he should just say he’d purchased a tract of ocean floor off in some archipelago somewhere for rescued Mers who wanted to live free in an ocean preserve; at least that would divert Shinji’s attention… But no, it wouldn’t. He’d seen the way his long-time companion had looked at him the last few times he’d visited, and he knew that Kei and he had been discussing his failing physique and health. Thanks to his reluctant little blond, his recovery thus far would be immediately noticed and probed, and then Shinji’s relentless prying would begin. No, it would be better to meet this visit head on and prepare the kids down below for the fiasco that would result. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t hide his silvered soulmate away like he had the Asami Family treasure or what his mother had discarded. 

Asami glanced at the large sliding door to his balcony past the dining room. Whomever fitted those doors should be given a reward for their care and craftsmanship. The rain was starting to overwhelm the drainage system on the outside deck, and water was already at least half way up to the edge of the track frame. If the downpour continued through tomorrow night, there would be cascading waterfalls from the top floor once the water met the space between the balcony floor and the glass railings surrounding it. He would have his own mini glassed-in pond out there… An idea struck him suddenly, and without hesitation he picked up his phone and checked the outside temperature. It was warm enough. With a mischievous grin, he went back into the master suite and shed the robe and slippers as he headed into the shower room.

Once he was drying himself off from his rinse, Asami attempted contact with Ai, wanting to keep his little surprise from Akihito. The boy had made it rather clear that he wasn’t enthusiastic about what he considered excessive gifts, being far more appreciative of his guided tours outside of his world below and the language lessons, so Asami would try winning him that way, with gifts of time and attention. Both Ai and his blond would still be awake now, and thanks to his mother’s side, he could function perfectly well on very little sleep, so let’s see how his boy reacted to spur of the moment surprises.

 

As expected, Ai responded to his mental link, somewhat surprised at the contact. Asami explained that he was going to “borrow” his boy for a little while and wanted to know if she wanted Kei for some company while they were occupied. With a laugh, she assured Asami that Aki had already gone off to parts unknown in their space as Kei had showed up on his own just a little while ago. He felt a mild stirring at the edge of their contact, meaning she had worked her magic and had temporarily turned his friend partly aquatic again. Projecting his thought link to include his friend, he wondered if she’d managed to talk Kei out of his underwear yet. Feminine giggles mixed with warm embarrassment suffused the link as he gave them both a ten minute warning of his arrival. 

Stepping out of the penthouse in a long bathrobe and beach sandals, he reached out to Akihito with his mind as he waited for the elevator to arrive. Turned out he was correct in his earlier intuitive assessment as his boy hanging out with the porpoises as he got a cheerful welcome and a load of questions about the effects of a certain fish that seemed to be hallucinogenic when eaten. He got a flash of several of the usually nimble mammals just acting dopey nearby, lolling about, then an image of the fish in question. He chuckled as he explained that an ancient human people called the Romans had referred to it as “the dream fish” and had consumed it as a recreational drug. It caused hallucinations for up to a day or so, depending on the amount ingested. He then fended off more questions by saying he was on his way down to see him, and caught a brief whiff of pleased surprise before the boy cut that off and said he’d meet him at the steps. Asami smiled to himself before shifting the bundle tucked under his arm.

Several minutes later, the sight of a hysterically laughing Akihito, on his back in the water as he held his sides and splashed his tail helplessly greeted Asami’s as the door slid open. Surprised and delighted by this scene, Asami looked for the source of hilarity and found Ai with a death grip on the elastic waistband of Kei’s swim trunks, trying hard to shimmy them down over the rump of one beet-red Executive Personal Assistant who was equally twisting about and trying to keep them up while he got away cursed her soundly in his mind. Asami put his bundle down on a rock and walked over towards the brutal attack, winking at his boy as he knelt down near the edge of the pool and offered his hand to his friend. Kei grasped at it desperately and Asami stood up, pulling him out of the Siren’s wicked clutches as the man barely managed to retain single-handed custody of his drooping swimwear. 

Snortling (as in snorting and chuckling at the same time), the blond rolled himself over as he loudly cheered and applauded the near escape while Kei gave him a dirty look around Asami’s back as he tried to wiggle back into his wet skivvies. Ai flashed the three males an image of Kirishima’s bare butt cheek as she snapped her sharp teeth, grinning like a moray eel. Once his friend was contained once more, Asami went and spent a minute talking with his boy as Kei scowled and stayed out of the water. With an excited whoop that rattled around all of their synapses, Akihito nodded vigorously to whatever Asami had just proposed to him as the big man turned back to his bundle and shook out another bath robe. Pulling out the robe’s belt from its loops, he handed it to Kei and suggested he use it to keep his swim trunks on. Kei glared at him, demanding to know how that was supposed to help him. When his boss mentioned he could use it to tie Ai up to make her behave, it was Kei’s turn to grin while the mermaid’s shriek of laughter rang in their heads. Turning, she dove to make her get-away while Kei made a running dive into the water in hot pursuit of her, belt in tow. Akihito was giggling at the pair before he started turning a delicate shade of blush at some of the images flickering through Asami’s mind, especially since he was the featured star of a few of them. Huffing, he gave the big man a dire look as he prepared himself to do battle with the big jerk.

Who, once getting the sense of determination not to fall prey to any tricks he might try, let himself be as open to his little soulmate as he wasn’t with everyone else. He waited patiently as the blond worked his way from suspicion, to skepticism, on to a vague disbelief, then a dawning curiosity at what Asami might be up to. No teasing? No innuendos? No smug airs? This was the calm, self-assured persona that had first taken an interest in him, had communicated with him freely, and had introduced him to the world beyond his fish bowl while making certain he was as secure as possible.

Once Asami was certain he had the boy’s undivided attention, he spoke his piece: 'I wish to take you somewhere close by to experience something you’ve never seen in person before. Do you want to come with me, now?' Akihito’s interest was definitely piqued. Seeing something somewhere else, in person? With Asami? That sounded like all kinds of intriguing to the blond. He eagerly agreed and helped Asami lay the extra bath robe out on the surface of the water, spreading it out, then dunked it beneath the surface until it was completely saturated. Under the big male’s direction, Aki wormed and wiggled his way into it from underneath, then rolled several times with it on to wrap the heavy cotton material around his body. He felt the weight of the robe start to weigh him down in the water, and he wasn’t able to move or remain buoyant by himself, so when Asami bent to pull him closer, he wasn’t in too great a position to protest. Carefully picking up the drenched Akihito burrito with his arms tucked in and the length of the robe covering his tail fins, the Dominant male made sure to balance his bundle on his knee as his free hand pulled the soaked hood of the robe over the blond head, snugging it around his gill slits to keep them moist. Asking the boy if he was ready, an excited, if not a tiny bit nervous Akihito nodded his agreement. Asami lifted him up in his arms with no effort whatsoever and headed over to the elevator button pad. Pressing the button with his elbow, Aki started to wonder if this was such a great idea as he tried to look anywhere but at the handsome smug face above him. Which just became all the more uncomfortable for him as the door slid open and they entered the elevator car, which had a utilitarian metal walled interior that reflected his suitor’s face no matter where he glanced.

Several minutes later, the door opened, they stepped out, and Aki was thrilled to realize they were inside the hall where all the aquariums of the exotic fish species were. Thinking that they were going to stroll through the area to see the different exhibits, he was surprised (and a bit disappointed) when they instead passed through it and several similar areas with larger tanks and their inhabitants to come to another, more fancy set of elevator doors. Again, pushing the “up” button with his elbow, Asami gazed at his soulmate, making sure he was staying safe and comfortable in his damp cocoon. Aki, in turn, stared at everything but his soulmate, never ever having been carried around like this before, and certainly not outside any tank. This was already a novel adventure for him, anything further from now on was icing on the cake. 

Suddenly realizing how far away he was from salt water and safety, he looked up at the big hybrid holding him and inquired if he was getting tired, or finding his burden too heavy…? With the smugness borne of his physical vigor flowing back into him, especially with the close contact, he smiled at his boy in a way that brought out another blush as he assured his bundle that he wasn’t at all wearing him down or heavy in the least; in fact, he thought the blond would look better with a little more mass on him. As far as he was concerned, rib cages and collarbones that were as sharply defined as his weren’t all that attractive. Akihito turned several different shades of indignant at that statement even as he spluttered, protesting that he ate his share of what they’d been given. As the door opened and they entered, Asami raised his brow, suddenly intense, and wondered if he really felt he still needed to leave extra food for Ai, or was that just years of habit he needed help to break? Akihito, feeling a twinge of something he didn’t think he deserved, glared back at the big male and demanded to know how many times he’d had to eat rotting food scraps left in the bottom of a dirty tank before. The flash of anger on that gorgeous face above him made him feel another twinge of something else altogether. 

‘From now on, you and Ai will have separate meals. Kei will take over bringing Ai’s as he has her best interests in mind, and it’s good for the two of them to spend time together. Alone. You will eat all of your own food yourself and I want you to finish what’s provided for you, understand me?’

The blond scowled before he bowed his head and mumbled ‘Hai, Asami-sama’ in a meek tone. But the eyes that glowered up at him, though, dared him to make the Mer do what he was told. And that challenge just had the Dominant male wanting to make him obey. Overwhelm him in sensations, drown his mate with desire for him alone, have his boy want him, beg for his touch and attentions. And that would start tonight. Right now.

Barely had the elevator door slid open when Asami was shouldering his way through while protecting Akihito, moving down the hallway in long, easy strides. Barely stopping for his own penthouse door, he swept a wide-eyed Mer boy into his private domain, his home away from the water, into the living room, past the kitchen and through the dining room. Using the hand that supported/was tucked around Aki’s back, he undid the latch on the sliding door and slid it open. Stepping onto the deck, he paused as he let the blond stare, open-mouthed, at the water pouring out of the night sky. 

Akihito stilled, awed at the sight. He’d heard it rain on different kinds of rooftops before, had once seen drops hit the glass of a high-up window, but had never actually seen it. And being outside to see it was amazing. And then his suitor pushed things up a notch and stepped out into it with him. Slowly, carefully watching for any reactions to the effects of the cooler fresh water touching the skin on his boy’s face and gill slits, Asami moved further out onto the balcony and into the rain itself. Akihito started squirming around in Asami’s hold, wanting to see and feel more. Tall, dark and handsome (‘and strong’, Aki thought to himself absently) (which the big male totally heard, loud and clear), brought them both up to the glass barrier and hitched the blond a little more upright, showed him the city’s night lights. 

Akihito was enthralled. The rain was awesome enough on its own, but the dazzling light show, reflected off the wet streets and glass buildings bounced off the low hanging clouds, making the whole scene as dazzling as the reefs down below. His wonderment affected the big hybrid, making him think back to the last time he felt like that. Other than when he was a boy, visiting his Mer relatives in their court or colonies for the first time, it would have to be at the warehouse when he felt this boy’s presence for the first time. His possessive nature was temporarily supplanted by a protective need to earn more of these moments of wonder and discovery with his Akihito. Sitting himself down on the deck, Asami knelt as he set his boy down in the water and supported him partially upright.

The boy’s face was breathtaking. Eyes wide open in amazement, his visage alight in wonder, he’d worked his arms free of the robe and had cupped his hands together to catch the rainwater even as he kept looking between the lights below and clouds above. His mind was on input overload, trying to memorize every detail, not knowing when he’s have a chance like this again to experience something so precious, when he caught sight of the man behind holding him.

Dark, wavy tendrils of hair dripped rain onto the wet chiseled face, sooty eyelashes clumped together lining black black pupils rimmed by golden irises. Those lips that seemed only able to mock or form a thin line of displeasure were slightly parted, breathing softly in and out. Akihito let his hands part and turned over, leaning into him, his arms slipping up the man to his shoulders, then around his neck as Asami pulled him in closer, until they were both locked together in an embrace, blond head tucked under strong chin, both sets of eyes closed in comfort at the closeness. Asami moved his legs around until they were in front of him, then carefully lay down on his side with his soulmate pressed fully against him.

After awhile, the rain began to feel cool to Aki, even with Asami’s body heat factored in, and the big male nuzzled the blond’s neck behind the ear with his nose as he rolled onto his back with his boy on top of him. Looking up at him through lidded eyes, he combed his fingers through the long blond hair as his other hand rubbed over the small of his back before gently moving the boy aside, getting up, picked Akihito up once more and made his way back into the penthouse. As he walked through the apartment, not minding the puddles left behind in the carpet, he ran his hand lightly over the boy’s outside arm as he made his way down the hall to the tub of hot water that he’d filled before leaving to get his boy. The sea salts and minerals he had added to the tub, carefully measured as prescribed by the experts caretakers, would have dissolved by now to nearer what the blond was used to. He knelt down beside the tub, directing Akihito to test the water with his tail, making sure it was warm enough to make him more comfortable and ease him back towards the temperature of the aquarium so he didn’t sicken the Mer, or shock his system. True, Akihito was a healing type, and a lot tougher physically and mentally than he looked, but he didn’t want to put the boy through any unnecessary discomfort or unpleasantness. Once Aki told him that the water was fine, he lowered him in, robe and all, until he was laying back, warm and comfortable in water deep enough to cover him and the cloth around him. Asami stayed with him, watchful in case he began to sicken or took some kind of turn. 

Once it was clear his soulmate was alright, the big male got up, letting Akihito know that he was going to seal the sliding door tight before his dining room flooded. The blond reached out and grabbed hold of the man’s large hand and followed it up past his shoulder to his face. Taking Asami’s knuckles, he rubbed them against his cheek, thanking him for the wonderful night. Asami gently turned his hand in the Silver Tail’s grasp and caressed the boy’s face before bending down quickly to press a soft kiss to the blond head, savoring the scent of his mate’s blissful contentment, promising them both more such moments to come.


	12. Chapter 12

Aki woke up and stretched his arms above his head as him twisted his torso about to limber up. After rubbing his scrunched up eyes, he looked up to see how tangled up he was in his kelp and gaped at the sight above him. No kelp fronds, no coral walls, NO. WATER. As he struggled to get upright, something flashed by his lower field of vision. Looking down, he noticed two more items of interest: no tail, and he had feet. He had feet?! How the hell did he have feet? If he had feet, and there was no water surrounding him, then he must have legs and be on dry land somewhere, someway. Risking a quick peek down, he confirmed that, yep, he indeed had legs. Long ones, too. Kinda skinny, not strong muscular ones like Asami had, but the lower parts below the joint ( _knee_ , that's right) looked like they were solid enough, and the thigh above did seem to have some coiled muscles in there, ready to spring. So, he could probably dash off and sprint away fast, like when he was swimming. Only the porpoises could outpace him in the pool, and they had to be racing flat out over a distance, otherwise, he could out-swim Asami from the start for short distances, but then he had to make sure he got out of sight quick and hid, otherwise the big male would build up speed quickly and overtake him, which usually ended up with him caught in an unbreakable embrace, spazzing out, getting tickled.

Ok, so, he found himself sitting on his ass, with his feet in _T-bar leather sandals_ that strapped around his _ankles_. He had worn out _denim walking shorts_ on his thighs, and a _short sleeved t-shirt_ on. To sum it all up, he was Outside, wearing human clothes. Well, that was a start. Wherever this was, it seemed like it was a very nice place. Lots of green around him, like someplace he'd recognized from the pictures Kei had provided him for his Japanese language and social lessons with the human tutors. Something rough was rubbing against his shoulders, so he leaned forward and tipped his head back and to the side to see what it was, and startled. It was grainy and brownish and wider around than he was, and way high and omg was he leaning against a _tree_? Damn.

It was tall, many times taller than Asami even, or that blond guy Suoh, and it seemed the brown part flowed up and out, then become yellowish with green tendrils hanging down, like a giant-ass sea anemone. The fact that he was within its circle, safe and sound, most likely meant it wasn't carnivorous. Or at least, not hungry right now. He watched, fascinated, as a slight breath of air ( _breeze_ ) sent the curtain of tiny _leaves_ swaying gently in waves, bright sunlight filtering through momentary openings in the _canopy_ overhead. The leaves seemed much lighter in colour and more green on the outside, gradually shading darker, depending how many overlapping layers they were towards the trunk of the tree.

He heard faint sounds like shouts and laughter far off, and realized wherever he was, he wasn't alone, which meant either Asami was nearby, or one of his designated guardians was close, keeping an eye on him as he slept. If he went missing for a while, that might lead to something more severe than just some tickling when he finally showed up, so he might as well turn himself in, plead guilty to the crime of "falling asleep under a tree", and see if that got him some clemency. Another burst of distant laughter made him sigh and push himself up slowly onto his spindly legs, wincing at the pins and needles feeling in his lower limbs combined with the numbness in his feet. Guess he'd been there for a some time. Awesome.

Heading out from under the low hanging cover of leaves, Akihito found himself on what looked to be a small island not much bigger than the diameter of the tree canopy, in a shallow part of a large pond. As he walked along the outside perimeter of the leaves, he came across a set of stepping stones that lead across to the far bank of the water, and a path from there that lead off into more trees.

Carefully stepping onto the first stone, he found they were larger than they'd looked, flat and worn in the centre, firmly set in the bottom of the shallow water feature, and seemed to meander along the pond's edge. In a couple of places they curved a little further into the water area to either showcase some deeper spots where koi fish of all sizes and colours lazily swam in and out of the sunlight, or some colourful flowering plants that stuck out of the water bloomed.

Finally getting to the bank of the pond, he headed off down the raked gravel trail that wound its way through _bushes_ and trees of various sizes, shapes and colours, from round, frosted blue _needled evergreen_ trees to fine-toothed white-streaked leaves of _japanese maples_. He heard the chirps and songs of different _birds_ in the trees, and after crossing a small _bamboo bridge_ over a _stream_ full of budding _lily pads_ , the trail broadened out to a stone path that wound up a hill. At the top of the hill he stopped and gaped in wonder. There, under the open sun, the path lead beneath a number of wide spread _wisteria_ trees in full bloom, creating a tunnel of purple, powder blue and plum strings of flowers. Spent buds had been swept to the sides of the path and littered the soft green grass below the trees. The dark limbs and trunks of the trees stood out against the profusion of lighter blooms hanging down, actually blocking out the sunny sky.

He heard the laughter again, a little nearer, and decided it was either Ai or some children carrying on, and walked through the tunnel of blooms in search of the source of the noise. He was somewhat on edge, a bit nervous that it might be kids, not having had the best of experiences with some of them while in a display tank. But the blond quickly reminded himself that even if there were a few of the little vermin around, Asami wouldn't let just anyone come near and hassle him. Feeling more assured, he picked up the pace and kept moving.

Soon, he found Ai and Kei enjoying some alone time together. They were in a grassy area with dappled sunlight streaming through some large trees that were softly moving in the breeze. They sat on a spread out blanket with a basket beside them, contents spread out between them, Ai giggling as she carefully hand fed little cream pastries to a mildly blushing Kei. She, too, was casually dressed, and by all that's holy, Kei wasn't wearing a suit for once!

'Are they having, what is it, a _picnic_?' Aki thought, as Ai happened to glance his way and gave him a wave. Kei looked over his shoulder, nodded to the blond, and when he turned back to Ai, she was waiting for him and smushed one of the pastries into the end of his nose. Without missing a beat, Kei simply tackled Ai down to the blanket and rubbed the crumbs and cream onto her gleefully shrieking face. Akihito applauded the performance them continued on his way to find his man.

The path eventually split by a pool, forcing Akihito to stop and consider which way to go. The left handed one lead off through the trees towards a winding wall and a sloping tiled roof of what appeared to be a house. The other path went to some stone steps that wound down through terraced flower gardens to another water feature at the bottom. As he stood watching dazzling emerald and sapphire dragonfly aerobatics above the water, he heard another burst of merriment from below him, and that made up his mind.

Walking down the steps, he stopped several times to admire the blooms until suddenly, some of the petals seemed to flutter up onto the breeze. _Butterflies_? Butterflies! Hundreds of them. Swirling and swooping, flitting about, more and more of them lifting up into the air. Aki stood, transfixed: how could something so small and delicate steer itself into such wheeling heights, much less without flying into one another? This was as amazing as any school of tiny colourful fish suddenly flashing about in a different direction en masse. He waited a few more minutes until the colourful little winged insects started to settle on their chosen flowers again, a few deciding they liked the blond more and hitched a ride on him until he reached the end of the gardens.

That's when he saw them. A pair of boys were boisterously laughing and chasing each other around another pond with weathered bronze figures of _cranes_ standing in it. One boy seemed to be about 5 years old, dark wavy hair with lighter streaks in it while the older boy was maybe 7 years or so, green eyed and golden haired with darker shading through it. They both yelled, splashing water at each other as they took turns chasing each other about the water's edge. And there was Asami, casually sexy, just sitting on a large stone, grinning at the boys' escapades while holding a giggling little Mer girl in his lap. As Asami looked over at him, contented and relaxed in a way the boy hadn't seen him yet, the little girl turned to look at him as well. She was maybe 3-ish, had her long wavy silvery-blond hair caught up in a cute messy ponytail, and she had Asami's smokey dark lashes outlining her big golden eyes. Her little face lit up when she laid eyes on Akihito and she squirmed in Asami's hold as she held out her arms to be picked up and happily squealed "Papa!!".

 

With a jolt Aki bolted upright and almost strangled himself on the few seaweed fronds still wrapped around him. Fuck, it was all just a dream. A dream about him and Asami... and children. A family. He'd dreamed about a family of his own. Was it one of those prophetic dreams Mers had from time to time, or just wishful thinking on his part. It was very... sweet, the way that brute of a Dominant Male was with the children, presumably theirs, and he'd seemed to be enjoying taking time to watch the boys - THEIR boys - play while he doted on his, - uh, THEIR - daughter... Gah, it both touched him deeply, and embarrassed him tip to tail. Because he wanted a family of his own, dammit. Babies, children, a mate... Fucking hell, he wanted a home. And somebody who was his, and his alone. And, he was starting to long for it to really be Asami. He was starting to miss the big ass when he only talked to the him through their mental link because Asami couldn't come to visit for a day or two. But, that didn't mean for one instant that he was going to tell that bastard anything of the sort, not yet, not by a long shot. In fact, he didn't think he could even look at Asami right now, afraid he'd see the all over blush, know there was something going on in his blond head and somehow wheedle out the details of that dream of his. So nope, no visits, not for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asami, for his part, had had a fitful night's sleep. Something had kept him from getting comfortable, and when he did drift off, he'd had weird dreams. Even being able to fully function on only a few hours sleep really wasn't that helpful today. Depending on how he felt later, (and whether or not he could distract Kirishima enough with a suggested surprise visit to his girlfriend to keep that slave driver from piling more paperwork on him), he might be able to sneak in a quick nap, or even just stretch out on the couch for a few minutes to close his eyes and relax. Mmm, perhaps his boy was having some disturbing dreams this afternoon and he was feeling echoes of them through their link.

Mildly concerned at the thought of his boy being discomforted in any way, he decided to do a quick check on his little Aki down in his aquarium through the surveillance feed. He checked out the overhead camera first to see if either Aki or Ai was lounging around the top level, and wasn't really all that surprised not to see fin nor scale of either of the pair of troublemakers up there.

Ai sometimes ventured down to the middle level to wander through the columns and view the colourful anemones and corals in the twilight down there, but she didn't go any deeper as she didn't care for the darkness down there the way Aki did. Her type of Mer preferred the sunlight and relative warmth of the shallows. All the better for a Siren to lure in beguiled young male humans to feed on. Switching to different camera feeds, he didn't see his blond down there either. He frowned slightly, faintly put out that neither Mer seemed to be where they should be. Perhaps their tutoring schedule had changed for today, or else some kind of check up with the marine doctors that he hadn't heard Kei mention earlier...?

Now more determined to find both his guests than ever, he switched cameras to the bottom level of the tank and turned on the blue laser array to track sizes and shapes in the dark level to narrow down where they were. Ai would trust Aki to look out for her in the dark if he wanted her to go down there with him, and she already knew there was nothing bigger or meaner in the whole habitat than her. And anything that thought it might have a chance against her would have to deal with his Akihito first... He frown deepened: his thoughts were drifting away while he had something important to focus on. That in itself was abnormal, but with the feeling of self-censure, he set to his task.

 

Neither of the Mers were in the aquarium, and that made Asami uneasy. He hadn't stopped frowning since he wanted to check on Akihito, and he had the vague thought that the sassy Silver Tail would tease him about developing wrinkles if he could see him like this, but the businessman really didn't care right now. He wanted to know where his boy was, and his concern extended to his friend's mermaid love as well. Picking up his personal phone, he texted Kei, wanting to know if his 2nd in command knew where the Mers were right now.

It took several moments to get a reply, but the message he got about checking with Suoh didn't allay his concerns in the least. Having a restless urge to pace while he waited impatiently, he thought to get himself some whiskey, but didn't feel the trip over to his minibar was worth the effort. He found just waiting for a timely response from his men was starting to gnaw at his nerves. Finally, swearing to himself that if he got to Kirishima's office before he got a response on his phone, someone was getting shot, he started for his door just as the chime on his handset went off several times. There were messages from both of his confidantes, carefully worded to conceal their confusion and their own alarm. Neither of his top men said they were aware of any Mer guests being at Sion at this time, and wondered when this pair were supposed to have arrived on the premises. Kei had also wondered politely if he needed to take some time out of his schedule to rest and recover down below.

Asami felt a momentary wave of disorientation, grabbing hold of the back of his chair for balance. As the spell passed, the disconcerting feeling of fatigue and not having control of conflicting emotions made him feel beleaguered. He looked at his phone screen blankly for several beats before opening his photo album feature to send pictures of Akihito and Ai to his men to try and cut through the confusion, but couldn't find any as the feature stated his album was empty. Moving back to the computer screen on his desk, he clicked over on the photos file where he'd recently downloaded some pics of his boy. It, too, was empty.

Asami had to brace both hands against his desk top to hold himself up as a cold wave of dizziness and an overall feeling of clamminess crawled over his skin. His arms felt weak and trembled slightly, like he'd just finished a hard workout of bicep curl reps. Looking at his hands while waiting for his strength to return, he noticed that his skin looked sallow in the fluorescent lighting of his office.

Maybe everything to do with the young Mers had just been a wistful delusion, and he'd never had a soulmate to begin with. His heart constricted tight in his chest at the thought that his boy was either still in the hands of Collectors somewhere, or else he had simply never existed, and he felt like he could barely breathe. With specks like tiny black flies buzzing in and out of his vision, he pushed off the desk and made his way unsteadily toward his private washroom. Looking in the mirror had him barely recognizing his own reflection. It was drawn and haggard, the skin had a slight greyish tone to it, his hair was dull, and the whites of his eyes looked more like old ivory, shot through with reddish veins. He started trembling again, all over, feeling a harsh breath shuddering in his chest, just like his father had in the last stage of his wasting away before his early death. A sense of hopelessness washed over him, and he sagged against the counter, closing his eyes wearily.

He opened them again to find himself staring at the bright sunlight bouncing off the ceiling of his bedroom. Surging up from his bed, he forsook his robe and slippers as he rapidly strode out of the room, through the living room, into his office. Starting up his personal laptop, he quickly looked up the security feed in the tank below and fixed a camera on his little soulmate, sitting among the coral on the top level, distractedly playing with some of his pet crabs as he mulled something over in his head, judging by the look on his face. Puffing out a relieved sigh, Asami let his head drop in relief that he was safe. He felt something drip onto the back of his hand as it rested on the wireless mouse. Absently searching his face with his fingertips to discover the source, he found both of his cheeks were wet, with a teardrop caught in his lower lashes.

 

Like Aki, even later on that day Asami was just too wrung out to face his blond. Soulmates could be a heavy blessing, it seemed. For the boy, it was putting him in turmoil to decide if he should trust in Asami to start building his own home with his mate. For the man, it was because he realized that he had been more torn up about not having Akihito with him than the spectre of his own imminent painful demise alone.

As far as Kei was concerned, the pair of them were acting even more absurd than usual as he watched them both from afar the next couple of  days, busily avoiding any chance of contact with each other while he was left to wonder what the hell was going on with those two now.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, yeah, we're horrible, horrible people, leaving this for sooo long, but, well, shit happened, stuff went down, miscommunications were had, and now, here we are. Enjoy.

Kuroda Shinji drove his Maserati GT Sport convertible through the Tokyo traffic from the airport with a soft smile on his face. He loved driving with the top down, allowing him to the feel of the cool -though polluted- wind on his face. It carried with it the familiar scents of a human city. And though he needed to wear corrective lenses out of the water, the wind blowing his hair in his eyes didn't distract him from his driving in the slightest. The person he was talking to over the onboard MCT+ Bluetooth device, however, had the ability to make anyone look for a wall to drive into at high speed. On many, many levels.

"Gods of the Deep, Shinji, I arrived at the airport after you did and I'm still going to get to Sion Tower before you will?! You drive that wonderful machine like someone's sightseeing, Sunday-driving grandma. Would it maybe be faster, just maybe, for you to put that thing in reverse and tried driving it that way...?"

"I've got two words for you and your long-haired whining ass: distracted. driving. Don't you have some shady, scumbag of the underworld, Mer-trafficking thug to eviscerate or something while you wait for me to pull up out front in my luxury automobile, that I am driving, by myself?"

"Driving? Yourself?! What are you, a peasant?" came the scandalized reply.

"You know what, Fei? Fuck you."

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled a bit before sobering. "So, what shall we say is the reason we both came to visit at this time? We can't exactly walk in there and say "Hey, how's it going, Asami? Long time no see! By the way, we're here to support each other in case you're failing faster an we'd heard, and this is our last chance to visit and say our good-byes", now, can we."

"No, but that's what it is, isn't it? He'll be completely like his father, and after a certain point, he won't want anyone to see him at all. He'd rather us remember him how he was when he was young and virile, not sick and starting to become decrepit."

The other voice was quiet a moment before it came back, sounding more like a hushed, horrified whisper this time: "Hell storms, Shinji! What if he decides to talk about dividing up his assets and appointing beneficiaries and things like that! Oh, gods..."

Shinji tightened his knuckles on the steering wheel and nudged the speed of the car up a bit. "Now why are you talking like that. Are you trying to work yourself up and make this harder then it already will be?"

There was a quiet sigh, then the voice came back, sounding somewhat more under control. "Sorry. I just had this awful thought flash through my mind that first Asami will die, then you would start to sicken soon after, then I'd be left alone until I, too, start to fade away..."

"What. The hell. Here we are, going to visit our cousin that we both grew up with, possibly for the last time, and you're already planning to be the guest of honour at your own funeral?! Never let it be said that you're not related to the Asamis; you can make anything all about you with the best of them."

"Yeah? Well, fuck you too, Shinji."

*********

He came back to the Asian Pacific as often as he could get enough days off to make it worth the travel, so he didn't know Tokyo as well as he wanted to yet, and almost missed two turn offs he needed to get to the business district. And it always amazed him how living among humans was completely different to just walking around among them. Kuroda loved to see their civilization up close, all the moderately ingenious people, with their cars and gadget phones, ATMs, planes and the computer chips that ran them all, living together in controlled chaos. Their skyscrapers, made of huge panels of glass, metal and concrete, that could be covered by low hanging clouds. It was all beautiful yet weirdly unnatural, and most Mer people would be amazed and confounded by it all.

It wasn't like Merfolk didn't have their own technology and constructed their own cities, they did. The cities were ancient and based on the natural areas that surrounded their colonies. They were colourfully covered in corals and sea anemones, and brightly lit with bioluminescent organisms like neon lights in a myriad of colours in the twilight of the depths, but he'd grown up in that cyberpunk-like cacophony, and the sober grey surfaces, the smokey reflective glass and the muted metallic tones here above the waves to him was somehow soothing, yet exotic.

Most of his people looked down on humankind for their collective shortcomings and relatively short time on this planet, but Kuroda saw them in a different way. They were hard working little shits, pushing themselves and their neighbours to death for little gain. They polluted their own air and glutted themselves on their precious natural resources, and were a self-destructive race striving to survive to their own greed, but at the same time, they had a freedom far greater than Mer people would ever have: individuals could choose their own path and be with whomever it was they wanted to have a relationship with. For most of his people, that concept alone would be far too abstract to grasp.

In Merfolk society, everything was based on the social rank the individual was born into, and by the instinct to find and be with their soulmate. The social rank decided the level of respect and privilege one had, while the instinctive soulmate "pull" decided whoever it was that you had to live with for the rest of your life. It wasn't unheard of a noble Merfolk to be bonded with a common Mer whose name nobody had ever heard of before, and it was true that whoever it was, you had no choice but to love them and devote yourself to them; your life, literally, depended on it, and in the end, that draw was stronger than you were. But in human society, they could choose anyone they wanted. Even if one person in a couple fell in love with another and the pair split up, they both wouldn't die if they didn't live together anymore. They wouldn't be forced to just depend on each other's well being for their individual survival.

Also, humans had the freedom to build their own wealth and social standing. If they studied hard enough, worked hard enough, and if they were lucky enough, even a simpleton could build their own empire. Freedom was the most beautiful thing in the world. Being part human, his best friend Asami Ryuichi was a lucky man indeed: half noble Merfolk blood, half aristocratic human family. Even if he was looked down on by some snobs in the Homeland for being "mixed", he still had wealth, privilege and was afforded the best of the two worlds.

As cousins, they got to grow up together, and before Ryuichi had to leave the Mer colony to live with his human father permanently, they didn't seem too different from each other. Well, except for the way Ryuichi was treaded by their equals. While the relatives were never blunt or straight out rude to his cousin and best friend, it was very clearly there, the condescending tones whenever one of them was speaking to him, the way their cold eyes stared at Ryuichi's as he went by, the mean gossip about it being such a shame that someone so important had to have human blood in him.

It all came down to the fact that his birth had just been yet another in a long line of business arrangements. It had been important to establish a connection to the human world if Mer people wanted to secure their colonies, as the humans had laws and contracts and shit knows what all about property and stuff Shinji didn't fully understand yet. The Asami family owned their whole colony territory on a paper granted by their Emperor from ages past. No one but that family from the human world had access to that precious part of the ocean. Their merfolk nobles owed the Asamis for their existence and the safety of their colonies within the family's fishing and intra-island trade routes. One would think they'd at least be a little nicer to Ryuichi.

As kids, they'd competed all the time, for everything; it wasn't like they wanted to prove who was the best at anything in particular, it was simply because it was fun to do. Both were nobles and lonely boys, sometimes it was like they only had each other in the entire world, and maybe for Ryuichi it wasn't just a feeling but the real thing. And from that time on, Shinji did not envy his best friend anything.

Contrary to what humans thought, Mer people don't spend their whole life underwater. Their bodies needed to be out in sunlight once in a while. Not only did they like to stretch their legs from time to time, they loved surface food also. They weren't wild animals, they could harvest, cook and do all the things humans did on their islands. And the Asami family's archipelago was huge; at least, by their point of view, so there was lots of room for both peoples to do their own business in peace.

*********

They were twelve then, and Ryuichi had just came back from Tokyo, a far away human land - a human megalopolis city, as Ryuichi had explained it.

"So... How is it?" Shinji called out, climbing further up the Ryukyu Pine tree. From there they could see a big chunk of the principle island and the large ocean bay. They never tired of the view from this height; Ryuichi actually said that once he was older, he'd live in the top of a skyscraper in Tokyo so he could look over everything the eye could behold.

Ryuichi was already up there, at the top, looking down at him with his pretty golden eyes. "Cool, I guess. I think I made a human friend."

"Oh really? Other than Suoh?"

"Yes, Father says he's a diligent worker and is studying hard so he can assist me when I grow up. He's also a pretty nice guy."

"What's his name?"

"Kirishima Kei."

"But I'm still your best friend ever, right?"

Ryuichi shrugged, biting his bottom lip to hide his grin.

"That's so mean!" Shinji tried to pout, but failed miserably, laughing back.

It was summertime again, they could smell the familiar scent of the ocean on the warm breeze, the liquid blue immensity around them made the idea of a chain of islands as big as Japan sound like a fairy tale.

"Ryuichi... Do you miss him?"

"Kirishima?" There was that damned smirk again.

"No, dumbass. Don't try to be funny, it doesn't suit you. Might sprain something, trying so hard."

Ryuichi shrugged again. "I was not a "love child" between my parents, remember? I don't have a close relationship with my father, you know that. He's not mean or cruel, or anything. To him, I'm more an investment for the family's future, so of course he treats me well. Isn't that enough?"

Shinji sighed. "You're gonna grow up a cold, cold bastard."

Ryuichi chuckled. "How is it you're so sure about that?"

"Your Mom isn't really mean to you either, but she's not... She's cold toward her own child! I shouldn't say bad stuff about a queen, but-"

"I am her halfbreed son. Nobody will say anything about that in her face, but she sacrificed her personal and her family's noble dignity to have me, to keep a contract with the Asami family secure, sure, but of course, she wouldn't be proud of it."

"You're neither shameful, nor a sin, Ryu! You're a person, and you have her blood. She should be nicer to you. She should be sad you're gonna live with humans soon. You're gonna turn into a lonely, frigid bastard!"

"Hey, Shinji, you don't know I'm going to be alone forever."

"Humans don't have destined mates. They don't have to bond for life or die. You're half human, right? So what are the chances you'll have a soulmate?"

Ryuichi frowned at that. "You almost sound like you don't want me to have one."

"Of course I don't! I don't think it's a good thing to depend on another person's happiness and wellbeing to be healthy and fulfilled yourself! I'm forever afraid I'll die slowly and alone, that someday I'll get sicker and sicker until I and some stranger I've never met both die from not finding our soulmate. You'd be lucky, Ryu-chan."

"Yah! Don't call me that!" Ryuichi said before pushing his best friend with his foot from the tallest tree on the hill, laughing wickedly. Mer people were tough, Shinji wouldn't get hurt on the broken limestone pieces below... too much, that is...

*********

That night, they decided to sleep under the stars, high up on the beach. Ryuichi laid beside him, facing up at the stars. "I don't even know why, Shinji, but I feel that even if don't have a Mer soulmate out there, somewhere, I'll still die from loneliness one day." Mer people weren't supposed to live alone. Ryuichi's Mer half might never be happy, always feeling incomplete.

"You know what, now I do hope you do have a soulmate. I hope it's someone who's special and unique and sacred, like a Healer, or somebody from some rare bloodline, like a member of the original royal family, so your Mom and the other "Fish" nobles would know better than treat you like shit. And not just so you won't find a bigger tree to kick me out of, either."

Asami Ryuchi smiled then, momentarily not wondering about any loneliness he'd face in the future, 'cause right now, he had the best friend in the world with him.

*********

Later that summer, a pair of boys stood before each other, studying each other carefully, neither one having met a real human or Merfolk before.

Shinji didn’t know many normal humans – his people actually don’t use the term ‘pure blood’ for humans, (just to be jerks, in his opinion)- and at first, he was just plain curious. It was kind of exciting, yet disappointing, all at the same time. The human boy was a tad smaller than him, had shorter black hair, a pair of square eye glasses, and an expression that was 'way too serious for a twelve years old boy. Plus, he was wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and runners, to the beach. It was summertime, dammit.

Shinji had come straight from one of the biggest Merfolk colonies ruled by Ryuichi’s Mom's royal family. Last spring, his friend mysteriously hadn't shown up for the colony queen’s birthday celebration, no excuses or explanations offered. Not that it was any kind of a hardship for him to be here. It was nice to get out of water once in a while, especially when it was so hot yet breezy outside. Some humans didn’t know how lucky they were.

“So…” he started, “Kirishima Kei?” he held out his hand confidently. “I am Kuroda Shinji.”

“Kuroda-san.” Kei gripped his hand firmly. “Nice to meet you”, he said before bowing.

“Nah, call me Shinji. My best friend told me you are his other best friend up here. I hope you take care of him since… you know, he lives with his father.”

“Are you…?”

“Yeah. Merfolk to the bone. Cyan Auri family."

“Eh? You belong to the royal caste, then?”

“Oh, you know a lot about Merfolk society.”

Kei smiled a little. “I will be working for Asami Ryuichi one day, and since his company will have a lot of business related to Merfolk, well...”

Shinji liked his shy smile; this Kei was nice. The human had a low, polite voice, and he suspected the boy usually didn't say much unless it was important. His slightly tense posture and his innate formality suggested timidity masked by seriousness. Suddenly, Shinji decided he wanted to be his friend.

“My cousin Ryuichi is so lucky to have you close by. Think we can be friends too?”

Kei blushed. “T-That..."

“What? What's the problem? You don’t like me, or Merfolk or something?"

“T-That’s not it! I mean…” Kei dropped his voice “I am sorry for yelling… I really… really like Merfolk… but you guys are… Asamis and Kurodas, and I'm just... a kid…”

‘Oh gods, he’s so cute. I wanna keep him’, Shinji thought. Instead, he said “Hey. It doesn’t matter, ok? I mean… you’ll be Ryuichi’s trusted comrade, right? You’ll both share that trust as you become older friends… or is he bossing you around, bullying you?”

“Of course not!"

“Good, otherwise I'd have to bend his tail spines. That's settled, then. From now on, you’ll be our friend. Don't expect a lot of hugs or anything from him though, that bastard's cold as ice.”

“Who’s a bastard, Shinji?”

Kei almost jumped of his skin when Ryuichi appeared right behind Shinji, with a smaller, giggling Asami cousin, Liu Feilong, perched on his shoulders.

*********

That night, Shinji couldn’t sleep. This was the first time he'd ever spent thinking so much about one person. ‘He’s a human; there must be something wrong with me.’

“Ryuichi… are you awake?”

Whenever he would visit, instead of sleeping alone in his own bedroom, Ryuichi would share his room with him so they could stay up late, play and talk.

Sigh. "Now I am.”

“Oh, my bad…”

“What?” Ryuichi braced his elbow on the mattress and rolled over onto his side to look at him, his hand holding his head, his silhouette defined by the moonlight coming in through the window

Shinji took a deep breath before muttering “Is… is that true humans can't have… “

“What?”

“...A soulmate?”

Another sigh. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Well, you know... I met Kei for the first time today… and he seems kinda sad, and lonely...”

Ryuichi sat up on his bed and and reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. His black unruly hair looked kinda hot, in a way that even torturing the Mer boy with the spines of a lion fish would NEVER make Shinji admit, out loud, ever, to anyone. His golden eyes did have a suspicious glint to them, though.

“Get to the point, Shinji. Why are we talking about Kei here.”

He swallowed hard, only hoping that it was dark enough to not show his blushing cheeks. “I-It's just because…”

“Because…?”

“Well, its just because he looks so… Lost and quiet I guess…? It would be a shame to be so alone in the world…"

Ryuichi considered his words for a moment, seemingly thinking of saying something, but instead he just sighed, again, and shook his head as if he'd changed his mind. “As far as I know, humans don't have such things as soulmates like we do, but…”

"...But?!"

“Kei isn't one hundred percent human, so… maybe…?”

“What!?” Shinji sat up with a bound. “What do you mean?”

“Father told me he’s like… a distant relative of his family, or something, meaning he probably has some Mer blood in him, somewhere." He frowned a little, trying to not to yawn. “I don’t know what got you so interested in him, Shinji, but remember, your position in Merfolk society is as a pure blood, from a noble family. I don’t want you to have problems with them for acting foolish, and worse, them blaming me for it, okay? Go to sleep.”

Shinji felt his heart tighten. Ryuichi was right, as always. It was a waste of time to think of humans, to have any hope of being something to a human being. There was pride in being of pure blood, he was strong, his family was respected throughout the Pacific Ocean, he had decent magic skills, he could see and hear 'way better than a human could, and he could live 'way longer than a mere human would. But that same Merfolk blood made him feel tied like an anchor to the bottom of the ocean. Humans were wonderful in their simplicity, they had rich and interesting cultures, they possessed wonderful technology, but they could eschew it all if they desired, to live an uncomplicated life. It was unfair, above all, hoping for more than just friendship with someone like Kirishima Kei, even with all his sweet awkwardness.

After all, they'd all been warned since they were small fry that despite their closeness living to and with humans, to have feelings like that for one of them was ridiculous, as their fickle nature would eventually get bored with just one partner over time, and lead them to leave their Mer. Besides, Kei probably didn't think of him in that way anyhow. He should just forget it all, go back to the Merfolk court and report to his queen Shion that her son was doing exceptionally well among the humans, even if she didn’t seem to have too much interest in her son’s life.

That night, Shinji found he couldn't sleep. His chest felt constricted, like his own feelings were squeezing him too tight, trying to suffocate his heart.

*********

"Shinji, why is it, every Summer, you get weirder."

"What! I just saved your life from that hungry shark, you ingrate!"

"You mean that ferocious, ravenous, baby shark that sounds like it was smaller than my foot?"

"You weren't there, Kazumi, so you don't know. I saved Kei here from at least being maimed."

"Again, it was a baby. shark. What was it going to do, savage my little toe?"

Shinji huffed, not appreciating not being appreciated. "And what would you have done if it had, Kei? How would you still have worn your beach sandals that we finally talked you into wearing, along with those shorts and t-shirt, then?"

Kei sighed a long suffering sigh and crossed his arms. "Probably, I would've worn them like I'm wearing them right now, with the thong between my big toe and second toe...?"

Shinji was just about ready to dump his ungrateful ass on the sand, hard, when Kazumi chimed in again. "So, I get you lifting him above your head, to get him safely out of the water while you swam back to shore, but now that you're both on the beach above the high tide line, why are you still cradling Kei...?"

"I'm not cradling him, I'm comforting him, in case he goes into shock, or something."

Suoh snickered as Kei rolled his eyes, then turned when he heard his name called from down the beach. Waving once in acknowledgement, he turned back to give the pair one last sidelong look with an added "...behave, you two...", then set off at a jog towards the other pair making their way through the tide pools. Which left Kei and Shinji staring at each other, almost eyeball to eyeball. "Are you planning on letting me down any time soon?"

"Well Kei, I was hoping you'd offer me a reward for my brave act first..."

"A reward. For saving me, from a baby shark, in water barely above my ankles."

"Hey, most shark attacks occur in shallow, knee deep water, so, yeah."

Kei shook his head and gave up. "Fine. What do you want for this, 'reward'?"

"Close your eyes for a minute."

"Why, you gonna drop me in the water then take off with my glasses or something?"

The accusation insulted Shinji's protective urges. "What? No! Why, has someone in town tried that with you?!"

Kei held up a placating hand. "No, the town kids know I'm with the Asamis, so they leave me alone. Why do you want me to close my eyes, then?"

Shinji calmed down immediately. "Good, otherwise, I'd have to kick somebody's ass so hard, they wear it up over their ears like a hat." Taking a breath, he tried his hand at coaxing. "Kei, c'mon. Close your eyes. Please?"

Kirishima huffed, but not thinking of any other way to make the stronger Mer put him down, he ungraciously growled out "Fine!" and complied.

As soon as he did, Shinji swooped in and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on those lips he'd thought about A LOT, then set him down and stepped back fast. Kei was shocked and just stood there, gaping at his Mer friend, who was also just standing there, gaping back in disbelief that he'd gotten away with it. Both boys started blushing so hard, it looked like they both had bad sunburns. Kei was reddish pink up to his hair follicles, and Shinji was blushing so bad now the basic blue colouring of his Mer form was showing through around where his gills would normally be.

Seconds later, a boisterous bundle of oblivious nine year old with wild wet hair plastered all over him came running up to them, followed by Suoh, who looked like something odd had just wiggled its way into his swim trunks. Behind them came a stone-faced Asami, dark hair flying about in the breeze, golden eyes darting accusingly between the awkward pair before grunting out "Great. What happened that I'm going to get blamed for now."

*********

 Holding up the mirror Glasses had given him few days earlier, he realized he had never spent much time wondering what he looked like before. Of course, he kind of knew in a vague way what he looked like, but watery reflections didn't have the high quality image mirrors had. When Ai got her set from Asami, she said that he could borrow it any time, but lately she had been teasing him that if he stared at it any more, he'd wear her mirror out. But what he couldn't stop staring at really was his own hazel eyes. He had a feeling that he was pretty sure he could change their colour if he wanted to. He was just like his mom, after all, and her eyes would glow with a bright blue hue when she did use her magic.

Her magic...

He looked at his Japanese Ethics teacher, (aka Glasses-san himself), wondering if Asami didn't trust anybody else to be this close to his... What exactly was he, anways? They sure hadn't mated yet, so that meant he wasn't officially Asami's soulmate then, right? He frowned, feeling momentarily frustrated. Growing up in captivity had made him ignorant of both human and Merfolk society and how both species got along with their own kind and each others. He had a lot of ground to cover, and he had a funny feeling that he'd still be screwing niceties up for the rest of his life.

The glowing eyes thought was a trigger, though, that made him unable to stop thinking about his mother. She had long, dark gold blonde hair, she was always nice, and beautiful, and snuggling with her could heal his soul. There was no fear, no coldness, no loneliness in his world when he was in her arms. So it didn't come as a surprise that humans needed her to heal them, too. His young mind could understand that, and at first, when she was taken away for short periods, he'd thought that those humans probably didn't have their own moms to snuggle with. But now, he knew better. That had be the reason why they took her away. She could heal.

He looked in the mirror once again: his eyes, the color of his hair, even the tip of his nose and his lips looked so much like her, that he felt his heart tighten. 'Am I just like her?' He glanced at Glasses again. There was only one way to find out.

Without looking up from his papers, Kei spoke. "Spill it."

"What?"

"You're staring a hole through me", the Personal Assistant said, looking up from his notes. "I am here as your teacher, so, if you have a question..."

"Oh." Akihito had a million of those annoying things buzzing around in his head normally, he usually just couldn't think fast enough to ask any; but he knew there was no way a human like Kirishima would know about this one. "I was just wondering..."

"About?"

"My mom's magic."

Kirishima's eyes softened. He knew the boy had lost his mother when he was younger than he had been, and he could only imagine the loss and confusion of such a young merfolk boy, surround by greedy humans who wanted nothing but to make money off of him, like an animal to be abused, trained, taken advantage of and exploited.

"Your mom was likely a Silver Tail like you. Do you remember her?"

Akihito smiled a little, but it wasn't exactly a happy smile. "I remember. She was so nice that they took her away... She could heal people, humans and Mers alike."

Kirishima nodded. "Yes, there are stories that Silver Tails could heal. That's why..." Akihito tilted his head, waiting. Glasses usually didn't hesitate, that wasn't his style.

"Asami-sama has probably already told you about it, but Silver Tails are extremely rare, you know. Because they could heal Merfolk and humans alike, they were hunted down and kidnapped, sold like expensive chattels, kept in private aquariums... Anyway, many people still believe your race had been wiped out. You, young sir, are a very important individual, apart from Asami-sama's intentions." Akihito blushed a little, feeling warm inside and with that, Kirishima went back to his notes.

  
The merfolk boy bobbed nearby, watching him for a while. They didn't have much in common, besides Ai and Asami, but sometimes Glasses felt like a big brother, watching over him, nagging him, teaching him. It was a good feeling, what Aki suspected a real family would be like. Would he himself be able to build his own family with that charming, annoying, bossy half Mer man? Asami Ryuichi was much more of a mate than he could hope for. Against him, Akihito's resistance was just a game. That man's arms were like a fortress; if he was being honest with himself, Aki could just let be himself be protected and cared of in them and be content with life. And it wasn't like that notion made him feel like a damsel in distress, either. Instead, he felt strong, capable of just about anything. Was this just the effects of the Merfolk soulmate instinct, maybe? He had been learning about it lately, because of course, Asami wouldn't want to waste any time on _THAT_ education.

Now that they knew that Glasses had a little bit of Mer blood in him, Ai had been trying to teach him to turn into his Mer form without the help of her magic. Akihito didn't say anything, but he was a bit skeptical about it. Seriously, whatever the hell his age was, he had been in his "fish" form for how many years now, and still didn't couldn't change into his human form. Then again, Glasses seemed more then capable than most people about most things.

He sneaked a look at the man's feet - when teaching Akihito, he would take off his shoes and sit at the sand edge, next to the water. They were normal feet, if anyone asked him to describe them; it was amazing to him just to consider transforming from his own tail to a pair of legs with those things on the ends.

Now that he was paying attention, the blond noticed Kirishima's shin had a nasty scratch across it, almost hidden by the cuff of his pants. Surely the result of Ai's mean games, of chasing and being chased and racing between the corals. Asami and Akihito were less obvious, testing each other's skills and abilities as fit potential mates in other ways. Still a bit curious about his similarities with his mom, though, and wondering if he could do the same things she could by healing and comforting the people he cared about - although, truth be told, her circumstances were different, and she didn't have any choice in the matter. He decided to try an experiment and volunteered nii-chan Kei for it.

He concentrated on those feelings, and knew how important it was for him to do so (he didn't need to know any elder teachings from his own race to recognize it as ancestral knowledge, it was just there, inside him, somewhere). He licked his lips as his quietly slipped beside his "volunteer" and quickly kissed Kirishima's damaged skin. Like venom, it first numbed, then partly paralyzed the man's leg. As startled as Kei was, he turned to demand to know what the boy did to him then stopped, watching the boy's eyes glow with a blue hue; he seemed as if he were in a trance. After a moment, Akihito's whole body glowed faintly. In the clear blue water of the tank, it was mesmerizing.

It actually didn't take much time, a minute, maybe less. Aki moved away a little to inspect the results of his work, and there was now nothing there, no mark, the skin was like new. He smiled a little until he looked up at Kirishima's expression. "W-What the hell..?"

"My mom!" Akihito explained. "She healed with a kiss".

"Thank you, Akihito-kun." Kirishima said, "I appreciate the gesture, but perhaps you'd better not do that ever again. Even if you had asked beforehand, misunderstandings could happen. As much as Asami-sama's a good friend and a fair boss, I'd like to keep my head attached to my neck, thank you very much."

Aki giggled. Suddenly, it was so cool to be him.

 

And this is what Kuroda Shinji's tail and fins would look like... 


	14. Chapter 14

Both men were tensely silent as they awaited their cousin's arrival. Suoh had met and greeted them at the doors to the grand lobby downstairs, escorted them up to Asami's office, then stayed with them as he tried to make them comfortable, being as hospitable as he could manage; he was, however, no Kirishima. And the mere fact that Kei wasn't there to greet them, much less Ryuichi himself, seemed to speak volumes about the condition the man was in. It hadn't even taken ten minutes before an unusually quiet Fei Long had made his way over to the bar and fixed himself and Shinji a drink: whiskey, neat, and doubles, each. Suoh's reticence about joking of his friend and boss' most recent aquatic aquisition, or his latest bedrom drama, was the most unnerving part of the wait.

Finally, there was a knock on the door, seemingly as a warning for the two visitors within to prepare themselves for whatever they were about to face. Shinji stood up from his seat as the door opened, while Fei Long finally halted his pacing to take a last nerve-fueled swallow of his drink. He tipped his head back and partly closed his eyes to just about choke when he heard the roguish baritone he remembered from a more robust man rumble out "I suppose you're wondering why I called you here today...". Jerking his head around, he stared past a completely floored Kuroda and gawked, wide eyed, at a rejuvinated man, looking nearly as he had been only four or five years prior, when he'd started to take ill. Before the lawyer could even think to say anything, Fei Long exploded. With a howl, he threw his glass between Kirishima's and Asami's heads, and as it crashed against the wall behind them, Kei had a silk-clad arm in a snug choke hold around his neck even as Asami had a cursing cousin's thighs cinched around his own neck.

"You miserable sack of stinking shark chum! How could you not let us know YOU WEREN'T DYING!!!" he demanded, yanking Kei up against Asami's back as he bent forward over Asami's head to yell into his face. Within the hanging curtain of his black hair he could see those golden eyes gleaming at him with unrepentant deviltry. "You tall-assed piece of shit, you!" With his free hand, the raging man peered up and pointed an accusatory finger at the chortling giant across the room. "And you too, Kadzu (Kazumi's nickname, after an invasive, fast-growing weed). You can just fuck right off too." As he took a breather from his outburst, he felt how the frame beneath him was standing strong and firm, shaking with laughter at his outburst. That, more than even his own eyes, convinced him of Ryuichi's phenominal recovery since the last time he had seen or heard from him. Releasing his arm from about Kei's neck as he decided not to kill them just yet, he relaxed his leg hold, and simply marvelled at the fitness of the back he slid down to gain the floor again before Asami tired of this and dumped him head first into a sofa cushion.

"Well then," Shinji spoke at last, setting his own glass down on the coffee table with still somewhat trembling fingers. "When do we meet your soulmate?" Leave it to the lawyer to get down to business. "I assume you have him or her wrapped up in a down-filled bubble inside a padded room in an inaccessible tower somewhere?"

"Why, Shinji, are you implying I have overly protective tendencies?"

"No, I'm stating that you're a selfish prick who doesn't give a shit how you're little whims affect other people and doesn't give a Royal Fish's fuck how your impositions might be detrimental to any unpretentious soulmate that doesn't know what kind of endless torment they're in for."

Asami grinned. He'd missed being lectured at about his wayward little ways, his friends having pulled their punches somewhat since he'd started going downhill, health-wise, and knew that no matter what the men before him were spouting off about right now, they'd extend their loyalty to any soulmate of his without question. His Akihito would be as safe with them as he was.

 

**********************

 

After grilling the tallest man in the room that wasn't Kazumi about the who, what, where, when, whys and hows of he'd managed to meet his soulmate, it was accepted by consensus that Ryuichi could pull over during a drive, step into the woods to take a dump, get a stone in his shoe and come to find out it's a nugget of gold; in other words, he was the luckiest son of a bitch EVER on the face of the planet.

Fei Long pestered him enough that Asami finally clicked on the security system and showed off the young Queen and his Silver Tail mate to be. Ai was admired for her exuberant coloration and Asami's testimony about her ability to roll with the punches, then his guests were struck dumb upon seeing an almost mythical Healer, alive and well in the aquarium far below them. Fei cursed reverently at the sight, almost as overwhelmed as anyone seeing their first unicorn as their host visibly swelled with pride. Shinji, on the other hand, being made of more pragmatic stuff, would have been happy if Asami's soulmate had turned out to be a pet store guppy; the bigger question of how his own Queen and other Royalty would react to both of these ground shaking revelations was above his pay grade to worry about, so, he didn't. What he did zero in on, was the slightest softening of his Kei's features as he divided his attention between his boss, everyone else in the room, and the multi hued Siren on the screen. Was the human he'd been interested in over all these years interested in another Mer, far above his own station? He didn't know how to react to that, except not to care for it, at. all. Still, years of trying international law cases had taught him how to keep his mouth shut and his eye open in order to find out crucial information...

After one or so more celebratory (and frazzled nerve calming) drinks, the men and Mers decided to go down and introduce Asami's visitors to Sion's guests. The lower the levels they went, the more crowded the elevators became, especially with Suoh in tow, until the doors finally opened and the suited men all but spilled out onto the sandy platform above the warm lapping water. Bobbing near the steps, Ai hid a grin behind one dainty hand and giggled while Akihito was all sunny smiles as he caught his male's eye, who had earlier admonished his boy between dire threats of merciless tickling to behave himself when the visitors arrived.

After the introductions were over, Fei Long asked the freed Mers if they minded him joining them, then bypassed disrobing into a yukata and headed nude straight into the water. Once he had changed forms and settled among the smooth rocks with the other delinquents, he started talking about some of the Mer rescues he had been involved with while asking them about some of their captors, and how they had been treated with Asami as their benefactor. Ai was Ai, pulling no punches about their past, while Akihito kept an eye peeled for his Asami and how the other visitor acted around him. He eventually relaxed when he realized that this withdrawn Shinji had no designs on his mate, talking over business with the other three men instead. When he missed a question or two directed at him, Fei Long flicked his long, graceful fingers at the boy, spritzing his face with droplets of water to regain his attention. When the slightly embarrassed blond turned back towards him, the Chinese leader crooked an eyebrow at him and drawled "Something on your mind?.

Ai snickered as Akihito none too subtley eyed his man and said "Dolphin-ately."

Fei Long gave him a look, then asked him if he'd made that pun on porpoise. After getting confirmation that he did indeed, Fei considered, then offered: "Well, it wasn't all that bad; but you cod do better…" Ai piped in with "Yeah, Aki. You don’t have to be a brain sturgeon to figure one out."

"Oh yeah? Have you thought of a decent fish pun yet, Ai, or do you need to mullet over?"

The exotic looking Mer rolled his eyes and complained "Can't you do any Betta than that?"

"Are you trying to gill-t me into thinking up better puns? Sorry you think my attempts at making jokes was a pile of carp", the blond grumped, arms crossed over his chest in mock insult.

Kei called over to the trio, alerting them that dinner was on its way down. Ai took the lead with "Guess we whale-y should stop now." Shinji gave her a not-so-subtle look of disapproval at the continuing game, which just made Fei snarky. "Oh, right, like you’re so so-fish-ticated, Shinji." That garnered Fei Long a glare. Turning to his new partners in crime, Fei Long continued. "Hey Ai, Aki: what's the difference between a lawyer and a sucker? One is a bottom feeding, scum-sucking scavenger, and the other is a fish." That definitely got him a dirty look.

Kei was having a hard time keeping a straight face; puns were a weakness of his since he was a kid, and these brats really weren't doing him any favours. "Why was the scallop monger so stingy? Because his work made him shell fish." Oh gods, he was going to lose it, right here, in front of the grownups... "Why do tuna swim in schools? Because they can’t walk." Seeing the elevator arrive, he got up and made a hasty retreat to oversee the assistants setting up for the meal.

"It's like why Asami never let himself get hooked into any romantic relationships before; he really just wasn't into intima-sea." A low "ooh" and an unhappy look from Akihito greeted, then killed off, Fei's tentative sally into observational humour about his group of old friends. The only one who even noticed the uncomfortable silence was Kei, who nodded encouragingly at his Ai when she tried to lighten the mood again as she left the lounging rocks with "Well then. How do you make an octopus laugh? By giving it ten-tickles." Aki got up and slowly swam over to the steps as he shot back "Whatever, Ai. Do you know why you should never pick a fight with a squid? Because it's too well armed."

"Sorry to interrupt your high-brow intellectual meeting of the minds, but would you three clownfish come make yourselves comfortable at the grown-ups table and try to compose yourselves for our meal?" The deep voice may have been firm and controlled, but those golden eyes glittered with barely contained amusement. Without even looking at, or mentally consulting each other through their new link, Fei, Ai and Aki all bowed simultaneously and called out "Hai, Asami-salmon!". And Kei absolutely lost his shit.

 

***************

 

After the unbelievably delicious dinner was over, Kei and Ai finished munching on their shared bowl of sea grapes, (Ai snorting with giggles at the crunchy popping the strands of bubble-like algae made in her mouth, Kei snorting at her reaction), made their excuses, and slipped away while Aki and Fei kept up their banter. The two relative youngesters were as thick as thieves by now, and Asami was almost sorry to pull them apart, even if he was the butt of most of their jokes. He'd let Fei finish his latest cautionary tale of what Aki "could expect living with the likes of Asami" before insisting on some 'alone time' with his boy, feeling like driving any sauciness out of the boy's head the best way he knew how at the moment. He tamped down any impatience at not being able to be between the blond's legs in the ways his growing urges wanted to be, not wishing to let any hint of disappointment or impatience leak through their link and possibly be misundertood by his little mate. For all his ferocious willfulness, Akihito could be heart breakingly sensitive, wary that any percieved censure could mean Ai's and his ejection from Asami's protection and their latest home. As if anything like that would ever happen to the boy and his life-long companion. He didn't even pay that much attention as Shinji took his leave, disrobed and entered the water, swimming away after transforming as Akihito was seriously enquiring as to why sometimes Asami or Kei would pronounce Fei's name with an odd accent. The Chinese Mer spluttered as Asami chuckled wickedly and admitted it was Fei Long's pet name within the group. The pronunciation was a play on a Polynesian word for a wild banana plant. And great gods of the Deep, Aki HOWLED at that.

Several strong sweeps of his tail had Shinji under way, searching the twisting corridors between the coral walls, and within a few minutes he'd completed his probe of the upper level and had slipped into a shaft to access the second level undetected. It didn't take long to home in on where the pair was, and with a clenching of his gut muscles, he could tell what they were up to, as well. He had stoppped thinking about what he was doing during dinner when he saw how Kei and Ai were acting together, sometimes even losing track of the conversation around them as they lost themselves in their own little world. He was at first annoyed with how the Siren had manipulated all of Kei's attention for herself with her basic, unsophisticated ways. Any attempt to act this way in his Queen's court would have been met with ridicule, scorn, and undoubtedly self-banishment away from the resulting ribald mockery of the nobility there. How Asami could stomach such coarse behaviour from this refugee pretender, he couldn't comprehend. What he did know, however, was that Kei deserved better regard and consideration than what she was giving him. Kei deserved what he could give him, would give him, once he got him away from her clutches.

Moving through the arches and gliding through the giant kelp forest, he glided up to them without being detected, stopping nearby behind a mound of broad fan corals. He seethed silently at how freely she ran her hands over his Kei even as he was at first surprised, then gratified by the partial Mer changes worked on the body he had pined for so many, many times over the years. The dark hair trailing in the water seemed to beckon to him to lose his fingers in it. The fins on the shapely limbs of his secret love's, the shading of his skin and fins, the dark eyes unhindered by those glasses of his out of the water... Shinji sighed, enraptured by this new side of his childhood friend. Surely HE should be able to reproduce these physical changes with his own magic, and then Kei and he could finally be together, Kei's uniqueness seen as a credit to his Queen's court rather than a liability. And if the other nobility and his own family didn't accept him and Kei being together, well then, fuck them. Their loyalty to Asami alone would ensure he gave them protection and welcomed them here, no matter if his personal feelings were ruffled or not, after he found safe housing for that bitch somewhere else. Close by, of course, so the little blond soulmate could safely associate with her, as long as he wished to. Or maybe Fei would feel sorry for her and take her with him when he went back to his own court. Akihito, was it, could visit her there in safety, and Fei and Asami together would provide them the means to communicate whenever they felt like talking. And Kei would finally be his with that temptress out of sight and out of mind. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

As he continued his secret surveillance, Shinji watched as Kei smoothed his webbed fingers into her hair as he had often wanted to with his friend since he stole Kei's first kiss as a kid. Her tinted tendrils seemed to part and welcomed his fingers in amongst themselves as her longer strands curled around his trim form and stroked him even as he pulled the Siren closer to him and rubbed her body against his. Their lips hadn't left each other's since he'd started observing them, and that fact alone is what finally drove Shinji to lose all self control and charge. Ai had just accepted that she couldn't prolong Kei's partial transformation any longer, and was just getting ready to push him away so they could head up to the surface in case his body changed suddenly, when her instincts blared in warning an instant too late. She tried to turn to face her attacker even as she caught a glimpse of a large form barrelling toward them with glittering red eyes and dangerous teeth and claws bared. Something hit her dead on, shoving her aside while a clawed hand grasped her Kei by the arm and pulled him down, down into the opening for the ramp below, deep into the darkness.

 

Kei knew it was time to return to the upper level; his lungs were starting to want to breath even as his gills began to fail to take in oxygen. As much as he wanted to visit with his boyhood friends, he didn't want to give up any time with Ai in her element. She didn't like having to transform into her human part out of the water, made to feel exposed and vulnerable in the open air by her past. He had his own worry, in the back of his mind, that one of these days, he wouldn't be able to transform anymore and would be denied being with her in her element, even for only little parcels of time, which was why he pushed himself as far as he could to stay below with her. But even he knew what his limit was, and could feel it fast approaching, so he prepared to disengage from his Siren and ascend up the shaft with her to the surface for his change back to fully human when it felt like a freight train ran into them, making Ai tumble away while something took hold of him and pulled him away from her, into the deepest level.

 

Fei Long had made up some reason he absolutely had to visit the hall upstairs to view the latest specimens that Asami had aquired since his last visit, which meant that Asami didn't miss any time in shucking his clothes, then changed into a Mer as he got into the water to be with his Akihito. Extremely pleased (and honestly, a little bit relieved) with how the introductions went, he wanted to reward his boy in a way that would leave a lasting impression: he wanted Akihito's first kiss. The blond, wary of the the big male's playfully aggressive approach, was busy trying to keep at least one rock bodily between them while not letting himself get boxed in anywhere, when he felt his skin prickle around his dorsal fin between his shoulder blades. Breaking off his game of "keep away", he sped past a startled Asami and dove down into the nearest shaft as he heard Ai's frenzied cry for help in his head. When he came out of the end of the shaft on the lowest level, he could clearly see through the gloom that a panicked Shinji was clutching a now mostly human and limp Kei by the shoulders, hopelessly shaking him, and that the man was drowning.

 

Kei had been pulled along, tumbling and tossed about by the strong downward current, not knowing what was happening, ending up confused and baffled as to which end was up when the water around him finally calmed, and he realized he couldn't breathe. Literally. He felt his gill slits retrograding back into his throat and ear canals along with his fins retracting back into his boady, and his lungs were burning, demanding he take a breath to live. He knew he was too far down to get to air in time, but he still fought his body, feeling his chest heave in agony and his throat try to clench tight and all of his muscles burn and twist and cramp at once. All he wanted to do now was to inhale the salt water surrounding him, and speed up the process of his drowning, knowing from experience that he'd feel a peaceful relief as he died. As he thought this, his vision started to yellow from the minuscule blood vessels in his eyes leaking from his elevated blood pressure. He knew what was happening, and knew he was finally dying. As the vision from his eyeballs filling with blood and serum made it seem like he was looking through a dirty, dusty window, it started to dim, as if the sun that had been filtered by that same window was now being hidden by clouds. At least this time he'd have the image of his firey, beautiful Ai with him as he faded away, his consciousness floating up with the bubbles escaping from his slack mouth...

 

Building up momentum before he began his desperate tumbling, Aki hit Shinji square in the chest with the brunt of his lashing tail, separating the bigger male Mer from his adopted nii-chan. Taking a deep breath in through his gills, the boy took hold of the drifting body of the human and sealed his mouth over Kei's, worming his way past the man's limply parted lips with his tongue, and slowly exhaled into his lungs as he steered them to the nearest shaft and floated upwards towards the air and light above. He sent out a call to all the Mer he knew in Sion, letting them know what was going on and where they were heading, even as they passed the middle level and Ai sped over to try and catch them in a raging panic. Aki was still steadily but smoothly breathing into Kei when they bobbed to the surface, concentrating on trying to focus his magic into saving the man floating with him and missed the angry typhoon forming on Asami's face. Asami waited behind for Ai to join them, blocking her desperate grasping for her man as his boy pushed his friend and confidante onto the steps and tried to roll the man over onto his side in case he needed to drain any inhaled water from his lungs. They all waited, emotions in tatters, as Fei Long arrived in the elevator and took over bodily manipulating Kei. Aki had just backed away, trying to catch his own breath again, when the man's body convulsed, then curled involuntarily, vomited, then took in a great wet lungful of air, and choked out water instead.

**Author's Note:**

> (back-to-five here) I am working on some fantasy AU for our precious VF fandom, if you want to talk to me about it, (to share ideas or just to chat) u can always mail me micronathy@gmail.com


End file.
